Lean On Me
by LiveLaughGlee
Summary: Everybody needs somebody to lean on and in this case Marley never would have imagined that she'd be relying on the help of an egocentric, angry, teenage boy to recover from her past. Likewise, Ryder never thought he'd ever be happy again. But as these two teens struggle with their own problems, they somehow manage to help each other find happiness and see how good life can be.
1. Chapter 1

She bit her lip as she followed the boy down the hallway. He seemed nice, smiling at her and acting as if they were best friends within seconds of meeting her, but she was still unable to return the gesture. A simple smile could lead to so much more and she had seen it happen many times before.

"So what'd you do to get in here?" He asked suddenly, turning down another hallway with another row of doors that sure enough led to rooms that she'd most likely never see in the inside of. Running her fingers through her hair, she shrugged. Her time here was going to be spent trying to convince the others that she didn't deserve to be here, partly because she really didn't, but seeing as the judge sent her here, someone obviously disagreed with her.

"Uh…" She looked around quickly, trying to find something to distract him with, if that was even possible. She didn't really even know his name. "How long have you been here?"

"A week or two." He mumbled, stopping in front of a door with the number '13' written on it. She smiled, finding comfort in the fact that her favorite number was printed on her room. "The program just started so we're all pretty new. You didn't read the program?"

She thought back to the little pamphlet that her aunt had shoved into her hands the night of the trial. She didn't read it, nor did she care what was in it. "What's the point?"

He nodded his head with a smirk on his head before turning to face the lightly purple colored door in front of the two. She turned to look at some of the other kids walking down the halls as he struggled to open the door.

Her eyes landed on a boy with brown hair, leaning up against the wall at the end of the hall. She wouldn't have paid him any more attention than anyone else had it not been for the guitar resting in his hands. Since she was a little girl and her dad was still alive, she'd wanted to learn how to play. Her dad knew and promised to teach her but he didn't get the chance. The boy looked over at her once he realized she was staring and she forced herself to smile. Instead of returning the friendly gesture, he stood up almost too swiftly and gave her the finger, turning around to walk into a room. The door slammed shut behind him.

"Don't pay attention to him." The boy in front of her said, bringing her attention back towards her own life. "He acts that way with everybody."

"What's his problem?" She asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer or not. Making friends, or enemies for that matter, was not on her agenda.

"Nobody knows. He doesn't really talk much." He looked back towards the door, which was now pushed open, so Marley mirrored the act. She stepped inside the tiny room and saw two beds, each pushed to opposite sides of the room. There were two desks in either corner and there was nothing on either of them.

"Who's the other bed for?" She asked, putting both of her bags onto the bed on the right side of the room. The mattress squeaked under the new pressure which made her sigh. Being comfortable was something she didn't want to have to worry about but it appeared as if the bed she had chosen was going to squeak with every move she made.

"Your roommate, I think, is supposed to get here some time tonight." He turned around and walked out into the hallway, turning around suddenly as if he thought of something to say. "Don't forget. In an hour is group meeting. Don't be late or Mr. Shu will get mad."

She nodded her head and waited until he shut the door behind him to lay down and reflect upon the day. As soon as her head hit the hard mattress she felt tears start to fill her eyes. How the hell had her life come to this?

She should be living at home in a perfect house with a perfect family. She should be going to school and joining as many clubs as she possibly could, making friends with everyone around her. Yet she found herself lying on an uncomfortable bed in a desolate room of a rehab center designated specifically for teenagers.

Wiping her eyes, she sat up and dragged her suitcase onto her lap, zipping it and pulling out a purple blanket with white writing on it. Sure, the room was bland but she could make it better. That's what she did. She took a boring situation and made sure that at the end of the day she was having fun with it.

By the time she finished unpacking, the door opened and a blonde girl appeared in the doorway holding her own suitcases. Marley assumed that it was her new roommate so she forced a smile onto her face and held her hand out.

"First off, you're on my side of the room." The girl spoke, pushing past Marley and throwing her own bag onto the bed that Marley had previously claimed as her own. Gasping slightly, Marley rubbed her arm as it started to throb from the contact the girl's heavy suitcase had made with it.

"That's my bed…" She spit out in disbelief.

The girl turned to face her with her eyes narrowed before a sweet, almost sadistic looking, smile crossed her face. "Listen, I always sleep on the right side of the room. Move your things, _please._"

Marley scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. She wanted to say no and shove the girl away from the side of the room _she _had claimed. She was here first after all. Her stuff was already all unpacked. Anyone with a backbone would have already argued with the blonde by now, but instead Marley nodded. She wasn't here to make enemies, she reminded herself as she grabbed her blanket and threw it onto the other bed.

"I'm glad we understand each other." The blonde murmured with a proud smile on her face. "I'm Kitty by the way."

"Marley."

The girl stood there watching Marley as she moved each of her belongings to the other side of the room, making Marley very annoyed. First she forces her to switch sides and then she refuses to help? What a bitch.

"Do you know what time it is?" Marley asked, as soon as her new side of the room was set up. She smiled to herself when as she sat down the bed didn't squeak. At least Kitty has the broken bed.

"Do I look like a fucking time keeper?" The girl snorted as Marley rolled her eyes.

Marley pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time, noticing that it was had been a little over an hour since she had arrived yet it felt like years had passed already. Biting her lip, she contemplated whether it'd be a good idea to tell Kitty about the meeting that they were all supposed to go to. Deciding against it, she walked out of the room and down the hall.

She walked through a pair of white doors leading into a room with chairs set up in a circle. She was late, which is something she thoroughly hated to be. It wasn't like she was OCD or had Type A personality; she just thought that showing up to something later than the time she was supposed to was rude.

"Miss Rose…" A man holding a folder in his lap spoke. He stood up and held his hand out, tucking his folder into his armpit. "I'm Will Schuester but you can just call me Will." She politely shook his hand before looking around at all of the kids who were staring at her. "Find a seat and we'll get started with the meeting."

She bit her lip and saw two empty seats, both on either sides of guitar boy. Sighing, she sat down in the seat to his left so at least she was also sitting next to the boy who had showed her around this morning.

"So Miss Rose, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

She could already feel her cheeks begin to burn as everyone turned to stare at her. Attention wasn't exactly her best friend and she was just as happy if she didn't get any.

"Uh… my name is Marley." She spoke quietly, looking down at her hands as she spoke. "and I have an older brother named Mark. He lives in New York with his fiancé."

Guitar boy chuckled darkly and she could see him shaking his head from the corner of her eye. Wincing as the laughter rang through her ears, she felt the boy on the other side of her grab her shoulder in a comforting manner. She knew it was out of comfort; that's what people do. They reach out and comfort their friends. But still, she jumped out of his grasp as a feeling of fear coursed through her veins.

"Marley, it's ok." Will spoke calmly and a new blush crept onto Marley's face. "Jake wasn't trying to hurt you."

Maybe it was the way everything had happened or maybe it was because of the thoughts that flooded her mind without reason, but as she sat back down in her seat she couldn't help but feel like she _was_ damaged. She needed to be here but she'd be damned if she admitted that to anyone else.

"You ok?" The tour guide whispered and she was relieved that she now knew his name was Jake.

"Yeah. Sorry." She muttered, turning back to face Will. Guitar boy was staring at her but she refused to look at him. It was his fault that everyone knew she was a freak.

"So you're all here for specific reasons and the most important reason is, I think, that you all lack a person to confide in." Will began, opening his folder and pulling out a piece of paper. "Talking is an important outlet that you can't get from anything else."

A guy across the circle chuckled as he licked his lips. "Trust me dude. There are plenty of other ways to relieve stress."

"He's got a point." Jake muttered in confirmation smirking as he did so.

Guitar boy chuckled dryly once again, causing Marley to turn to look at him. "Dude, having sex with the entire female population isn't going to relieve your stress."

"Neither is beating the shit out of anyone who talks to you." The boy who had started the argument spat.

Marley swallowed nervously as guitar boy clenched his fists. Thankfully Will spoke up, calming the three guys down. "Alright, alright."

"He started it…" Jake mumbled, turning away from the group. Marley bit her lip to keep herself from rolling her eyes.

"Are we five now?" Guitar boy muttered, the sarcasm dripping from his words like venom.

"As I was saying, I'm going to put you into partners because if I don't, you won't do the assignment." Marley sighed as the rest of the group groaned. She hoped she was with Jake, even though the immaturity he had showcased before was somewhat repulsive to her.

Marley waited anxiously as Will began to read from a list of names that he seemed to have already thought out. As he got farther through it she felt more butterflies start to form within the depths of her stomach.

"Marley and…" She held her breath as Will seemed to take a dramatic pause. It was then that she realized she really only knew Jake's name. "Ryder."

She looked up trying to find out who Ryder was until guitar boy stood up in anger. Wincing as the loud noise of his chair falling backwards rang through her ears, she turned to give Jake a look of pure disappointment.

"That's not…" She began to question but before she could finish her question, Ryder's tangent had already confirmed her deepest fears.

"You can't make me talk to her." He complained, pointing towards Marley as if she was some sort of smelly dog. "I don't even know her."

"The point of this activity is to _get _to know her."

"This is fucking ridiculous." The boy continued, turning towards her with a glare on his face. She bit her lip and looked back down at her hands, trying to keep herself from breaking down.

_It's ok…_ she thought. _He's just an ass. It's nothing against you. _

Will disregarded Ryder as he continued to talk to the group as if Ryder didn't exist. "So tonight and tomorrow you'll get to know your partner and then on Wednesday, you'll report to me in a special partner session that will be scheduled and posted on the bulletin board in the café."

Will stood and walked out of the room, giving Ryder a look before allowing the door to shut behind him. Marley watched as everyone except Ryder followed him out. Where they were going, she wasn't sure, but she didn't appreciate them leaving her here with the sociopath.

"Look, I don't want to be partners with you as much as you don't want to be partners with me." Marley spoke up after a couple of seconds. She hated silences. It was in silence that her brain wandered to dark memories that she had no interest in reliving.

He scrunched his eyebrows as he looked at her. "You don't even know me."

"And you don't know me." She urged, shocked that he'd think that she'd want to be partners with him after the fit he threw to protest being partners with her.

"Whatever." He spat, walking towards the double doors. "Meet me in the café an hour. Let's just get this over with."

She bit her lip as the door slammed shut behind him. Honestly, she couldn't figure out what his problem was but now thinking about it, she realized he probably would have thrown a fit regardless of who his partner was. So instead of focusing on her own insecurities, she stood up and dusted her butt off. She only had an hour, but in that time she'd text her cousin and settle into her new room.

She wouldn't worry about Ryder until she had to.

**This is just an idea and I'm not totally sure if I'm going to continue it. If I do continue, it will get better I promise. As the story goes on, it will become clearer as to why each person is in the rehab. Don't worry, though, a lot of the story line won't coincide with the plot of Glee but it may be similar at times. **


	2. Chapter 2

The moment she entered the café her nostrils were instantly met with the smells of overcooked meals and body odor of the kids who refused to shower. Scrunching her nose in disgust, she made her way to a table in the back corner hoping that Ryder would see her and walk over when he got there. Across the room, she saw Jake talking to some girl with dark brown hair who seemed to be more interested in the blonde haired guy who had talked during the group meeting earlier.

"Are you really this much of a loser that you can't find anyone to sit with you?" Kitty asked, taking the seat across from Marley just as Ryder burst through the doors. Marley frowned at the girl before her eyes met with Ryder's. He seemed almost relieved at first until he saw the annoying blonde that Marley wanted to hit.

"Now's not really a good time…" Marley trailed off as she saw Ryder turn around and storm out of the room and into the hallway. "God dammit." She murmured, standing up and following after guitar boy.

As she entered the hallway, she saw him sitting with his back against the wall right outside. Slowly, she walked over to him and leaned on the wall across from him. Allowing herself to slide down the wall, she got comfortable before looking at him expectantly.

He didn't know what she wanted him to say. Honestly, he was expecting her to continue her conversation and ignore her, but it appeared like a lot of other things, he was wrong about that. He licked his lips and sighed, looking down the hallway to see if anyone was in hearing distance.

"You could have stayed in there, you know." He mentioned, nodding his head towards the door of the café.

She looked in the direction he was motioning towards before shaking her head in disgust. "Trust me, I'd rather be out here talking to you than in there."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, making her wonder what he was thinking about, until his eyes relaxed and he seemed to come to a realization. "Don't tell me you're one of those girls."

Now it was her turn to be confused. "One of what girls?"

"The kind that starve themselves." He answered simply as if it was the most common thing in the world. "I've seen tons of them and it makes me sick."

She chuckled a little before shaking her head. "No. Food is my best friend."

"Oh." He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts before the cold look he had been sporting previously returned to his face. "Let's just get this over with."

The thing she hated most about this experience so far was not that she had been partnered with someone who clearly hated her. It was the fact that she could not read him. She'd be totally fine if he hated her guts for no reason. What bothered her was the fact that one minute he acted like a decent human being and the next he wanted nothing to do with her.

"Alright…" She let out, drawing out the syllables longer than necessary. Ryder rolled his eyes at her before finding interest in the girls down the hall who appeared to be practicing some form of dance. "So why are you in here?"

He turned towards her, an surprised expression coming across his face. "Why do _you _think I'm in here?"

She shrugged, not exactly liking the turn of direction this conversation had taken. She figured she'd ask the big question first, see if he was honest and then decide whether or not she should be honest too. But now the pressure was on her and it could go one of two ways. She could get it wrong and insult him or she could get it right and end up making him feel bad.

"Well… you obviously beat some people up." She mentioned, causing him to furrow his eyebrows in confusion. "That guy in group mentioned it."

Ryder thought for a moment, caught off guard that she had actually been paying attention. She seemed more interested in her hands than anything else and Ryder could have sworn that she wasn't hearing anything that was happening. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear."

"Why not?"

"Sam is a compulsive liar." He answered calmly, again making her question how calm he could actually be in stressful situations. She imagined that if there were to all of a sudden be a fire that engulfed this place in flames, he'd slowly leave the building, not once looking back or breaking a sweat. "That's why he's in here."

"He's a _what?" _

How the hell did he know that the kid was a liar? Does everyone know why everyone is here? She found the reason she was here to be embarrassing and she prayed that nobody ever found out.

"A liar. One who lies." She allowed his words to sink in before she realized that he was growing impatient with her lack of understanding. "He can't help but lie in times of stress."

"No, no. I know what a compulsive liar is. He just seemed so.." She allowed herself to fade out once she realized that perhaps she shouldn't always say what's on her mind.

"Normal?" He finished for her. "Yeah, a lot of them do."

He was making her think and she wasn't liking it. Did he think that she seemed normal? Or did he already have a suspicion as to what happened to her?

"Well, if you're not in here for beating people up, why are you here?"

"I never said I wasn't in here for getting angry and beating the shit out of jackasses. I just said that Sam is a compulsive liar." His answers were really starting to bother her. What was she supposed to tell Will if he didn't give her anything to work with? "Keep up there Marley."

She wanted to scowl and snap at him for being so arrogantly annoying, but when she looked up she saw him smirking. As much as she hated to admit it, he looked pretty attractive when he smirked.

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

He licked his lips once more before shaking his head and pointing at her. "Well what about you? Why are you here?"

"Why should I tell you?" Her words were sharper than she had planned them to be and he raised his eyebrows in surprise. To him, she seemed quiet and laid back but maybe he was wrong.

As he regained his composure, he stood up with a huff making her question what she had said. Clearly he didn't expect her to bare her soul to him when he refused to do the same.

"Is this how it's going to be?" He questioned, crossing his arms with a glare on his face. She sighed and got to her feet as well, not really in the mood to be yelled at by some guy she had just met. "You want to hear me talk about my problems so you can reassure yourself that maybe, just maybe you're not as crazy as everyone thinks you are!?"

She was taken aback at first by how much anger he had inside of him and she bit her lip nervously in response. She hated being yelled at by anyone let alone guys.

"I-I wasn't trying to…" She started until she caught herself off when she realized that she really didn't know what to say. The teenagers who had once been occupied in their own lives turned to watch the potential fight take place. Marley turned bright red and looked down at her shoes, hoping that this was all just a dream but sadly she knew it wasn't.

"Whatever…" He grumbled, turning around and stalking down a hallway. Eventually she heard the sound of a door slamming and winced, the loud noise making her mind wander to a less-than-pleasant time in her life.

She stood there completely dumbfounded for what felt like years. How could he be such an ass, especially when she was nothing but nice to him? Looking down at her feet in fear that when she looked up she'd be confronted with a thousand teenagers staring at her, she started to walk in the direction the boy had gone until she felt someone touch her shoulder again.

"Don't touch me!" She screamed, jerking away from whoever it was that dared touch her. When she looked up, she saw it was Jake and that most of the cafeteria had emptied to see what Ryder was yelling at. To her it seemed like he yelled a lot so she didn't quite understand how everyone could still be intrigued by it.

"Marley… I just…" Jake stuttered out, pulling his arm away from her and awkwardly letting it hang by his hip. He seemed genuinely concerned and she hated herself for yelling at him and more importantly she hated Ryder.

"Don't. I-I'm sorry." She shook her head and started stalking down the hallway, following where Ryder had previously gone.

She passed people who had left their rooms to see what the commotion was with her head down in fear that they'd judge her otherwise. For the most part she could handle people talking about her behind her back but when she was right there it made her feel completely out of place. All of a sudden her arm was grabbed and she was yanked into a room that wasn't her own.

Screaming, she pushed and shoved the person hoping that he or she would just let her go. Fortunately for her, he or she did but Marley was already out of breath and the tears were already pouring out of her eyes.

"Just leave me alone.." She whimpered, keeping her eyes on the floor because she knew it'd be better if she didn't look them in the eye. She had learned that the hard way.

"Fucking hell." The boy spat and Marley looked up subtly to see Ryder there holding his arm as if she had stabbed him. "Why the fuck did you scratch me?"

"Why the hell did you drag me in here?" She argued, crossing her arms as he turned to glare at her. Something about his facial expression changed and instead of the cold look he normally sported, he looked as if he pitied her. Another thing she hated was pity.

"I don't know. I just… I wanted to see if you were ok." He stammered out, rubbing the back of his neck and licking his lips. She noted the small gestured that he appeared to always be doing whenever he was nervous.

She was surprised that the kid had a caring bone in his body but seeing as this wasn't the time to bring it up she nodded her head and faked a smile. "I'm fine."

"Then why are you crying?"

Reaching her hand up, she brushed the tears away before looking down at her shoes nervously. "I'm not. I just… I have allergies."

He scrunched his eyes in confusion. Surely she honestly didn't believe that he was stupid enough to believe that lame excuse.

"Why don't you like being touched?" He asked, mostly out of his own curiosity but also because he genuinely cared. He wasn't sure why he was so concerned with her life and problems, but something about how innocent she appeared made him wonder about her. "You freak out every time someone touches you."

"I just don't like it." Her lip was starting to get raw as she was constantly chewing on it, but still she kept her teeth pressed down on it as she waited for him to say something in return. Anything. She just wanted him to speak but instead he just stared at her sympathetically as if he had any idea what was going on in her life. "Why do you get mad and freak out at the simplest things?"

He frowned and shook his head. "I don't know."

Whether she believed him or not, it was the honest truth. He wasn't always this high strung. When he was growing up he was the happiest kid. He always smiled and he rarely threw a temper tantrum. Recently however, that all changed and he didn't know why.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I just get mad…" He wasn't exactly sure what had happened between the hallway incident and now but he almost wanted her to ask more questions. "and I can't control it."

She thought about his words for a second before sighing. "My dad died when I was 10."

"How?"

"Car accident. Did you beat someone up?"

"Yeah but I had good reason to." He turned around and walked to the other side of the room, taking a seat on his bed. "Why don't you like to be touched?"

"After my dead died, I just kinda learned not to trust people. What was the reason?"

"Some dickhead was harassing my autistic neighbor. I figured I'd get him to stop by making it so he could barely walk."

The two talked for three hours before the security guards made Marley go back to her own room. Their conversation ranged from where they see themselves in 20 years to what their favorite color was currently.

As Marley was escorted back to her room she began to think that maybe this rehab center wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. Maybe she could handle it.

But then again, she was wrong about a lot of things so far. Why would this be any different?

**Some of you mentioned badass Ryder and I honestly have the hardest time writing for him because on the show he's so sweet. So you got to see the nice side of Ryder but don't think that he's going to be nice all the time now. He's still got a lot of issues to work through before he can ditch the mean guy within him. :) Thanks for reading and please review! **


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Marley was awoken by the sound of her roommate talking on the phone. She wasn't sure what was being said and quite honestly she didn't care, contrary to what Kitty appeared to think as she practically screamed an answer in response to some question.

Reluctantly, Marley sat up and stretched. Maybe she could head to the lounge and rest there until Kitty shut up or everyone else woke up. How she could possibly wake up this early and have a full conversation with someone was beyond Marley, but she decided to ignore the possibility that her roommate may be mentally insane and focus on walking the short distance to the lounge.

She laid down on a red couch and threw her little blanket over top of her. Just as she was about to dose off, someone shook her and she almost pissed her pants as she opened her eyes to see who it was.

She rolled her eyes as she saw Jake standing over her holding a plate of something in his hands. Whatever it was, it smelled fantastic and she felt her stomach growl in desire. "You really have to stop doing that."

"You act like I'm a monster." Jake muttered, sitting on the edge of the couch next to her feet. "Chill out."

She smiled and snuggled deeper into her blankets, hoping that a dream would overtake her brain and send her into a feeling of bliss. Sadly, Jake didn't appear to take notice of her wishes as he continued to sit next to her, almost taunting her.

"So I heard you and Ryder actually hung out last night." Opening her eyes in irritation, she nodded her head and watched as he frowned slightly. "Be careful Marley."

"You don't even know him."

He cocked his head to the side the way adults do when their kids say something that's so clearly wrong it turns out to be funny. She hated being looked at as if she had no idea what she was talking about so she narrowed her eyes and tried to stand her ground.

Eventually he sighed as a distant smirk formed on his lips. "I know enough."

She sat up, now completely awake and more annoyed than she had been since she got here. "Oh yeah? Did you know that.." She was cut off by the sound of the lounge doors coming to a close. In the doorway, Will was standing with almost wide eyes as he took in the two teenagers.

"Hey Mr. Schu!" Jake muttered excitedly, almost as if nothing Will hadn't interrupted anything.

"Are you supposed to have food in the lounge?" Mr. Schuester asked, his tone sounding like that of a teacher Marley had had a couple years ago. It was strange thinking that just a couple months ago she was attending a normal school and now she was here living with people she had never met before.

"Well no but I figured I'd keep the new girl company." Jake smiled a charming smile and had it not been for the anger he caused her earlier, Marley would have swooned and most likely blush. "You know, be a good citizen and all."

Will nodded, a smile on his face as he nodded his head in the direction of the doors. "Come back when you finish your food." Marley watched as Jake left the room and Will took a seat on the chair across from her. "So how was your first night here?"

She thought about what to say for a moment but there was only one word that came to her mind. "Interesting. Very interesting."

Will nodded. "How's your roommate?"

"I haven't really talked to her that much." Her answer was honest but he could tell she had more to say. What he didn't know was whether or not she was actually going to say it. "Apparently she likes to wake up at the crack of dawn and talk to people on her cellphone."

He chuckled and nodded his head. "I wasn't sure how you two would get along when I put you together. I'm assuming not well?"

She wanted to tell him about how she had waltzed in and made Marley give up her bed, but she kept her mouth shut on that topic and smiled instead. "Well like I said. I haven't really talked to her yet."

"And are you alright being partners with Ryder?"

She smiled and nodded her head, some of her hair falling loose from behind her ears. As she pulled it back, she could have sworn she saw a confident smile cross his face. "It's fine I guess."

"Good. I know he can be a little difficult at times but we all can."

She licked her lips and felt her mouth go dry. Why was everyone being so hard on Ryder today? It was like nobody seemed to think that they could count on him to be a decent human being. Maybe she should have taken it as a warning, but instead she was somewhat insulted for him. In her opinion, he was one of the most sincere people here. He got mad when he was mad and he cared when he needed to care instead of hiding all of his emotions as if they'd get him in some sort of trouble.

She furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. "No. He's been really nice, actually. Well, for the most part anyway."

"Will, Sam is trying to convince the guards that his parents are here to get him again." A lady Marley had never seen before said as she entered the room. She took a look at Marley and smiled a little bit.

"I'll be right there." Will stood up and patted Marley's knee making her bite her lip out of habit. When her lip hurt, she couldn't focus on the man touching her. "Why don't you take a shower and get something to eat and then you and me can talk some more in my office?"

Marley nodded, her mind wandering to the terrible thoughts that wandered in the darkest corners of her past. Why did he need to talk to her? She just got here. Clearly, he couldn't be mad at her, could he? That just wouldn't make sense.

She stood up and walked into the cafeteria, her eyes wandering around until they landed on Jake. He was pressed up against the wall, some blonde practically sucking his face off as her arms wandered along his torso, stopping at the tip of his pants. Marley shuddered before looking enviously at the girl. Why couldn't Marley be that spontaneous? Didn't Marley deserve to act like an inconsiderate, hormone-driven teenager?

Looking back down at her feet, she started walking towards an empty table to throw her blanket on top of it as she grabbed lunch. A couple seconds later she heard someone yelling.

"Dude, what the fuck?!" Jake screamed and Marley turned to see him staring at Ryder with angry eyes. Ryder on the other hand seemed completely calm about the entire situation, something she was used to seeing.

"Get a fucking room." Ryder retaliated as Jake nudged him. Although she should have been annoyed with the testosterone-filled threats, she couldn't help but smile at the fact that someone else was thinking the same thing she was.

The blonde pulled back and crossed her arms. Kitty. "Who the hell are you?"

Marley didn't see it coming and supposedly neither did Ryder because the next second Jake was raising his fist and the next Ryder was holding his face in pain. Jumping up from her seat, she quickly ran towards them and tried to get in the middle. She wasn't exactly sure why but she honestly cared about the safety of these two boys.

"Stop it!" She screamed, pushing Jake back into the table behind him.

"What is going on in here?"

Marley gulped as Will walked into the room, pushing Marley away from the two boys slightly. She shuddered under his touch while convincing herself that he wasn't there to hurt her. In fact, he was there to make sure she didn't get hurt. But still, as she felt his hand touch her shoulder her mouth went dry and thoughts of the past crept to the front of her mind.

"He fucking punched me. Why the fuck am I getting yelled at?" Ryder spat, trying his best to look at Will but he was failing due to his focus on the blood dripping from his nose.

Jake chuckled darkly as she shook his head at the boy standing in front of him. "If you had just minded your own fucking business…."

"You three come with me."

Marley looked around for any sign of Kitty but she was in the corner pretending not to be associated with them. Scrunching her eyebrows, she looked back at Will. Had he been in the cafeteria when Kitty was still over here or was he just assuming?

"Marley." He urged firmly from the doorway. Was he being serious? She hadn't even done anything.

"But I didn't even.." She started but Jake interrupted her with a dark chuckle. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately and Marley wondered if he really was the sweet boy she thought he was.

"Yes. Come Marley." He spat, sending a glare her way. She looked down as his eyes were beginning to scare her and started walking slowly towards the door of the cafeteria, where the three men were waiting for her.

Ryder didn't say anything even though he wanted to stick up for her. She wasn't involved directly and Jake knew that but still Ryder kept his mouth shut, partially because he didn't want to get punched in the face again but also because he was curious about whether Marley would stick up for herself or not.

The three were escorted into a room that Ryder had only seen the inside of twice before. It was Mr. Schuester's office and Mr. Schu really only used it when he needed to yell at someone. Needless to say, it was used pretty often but Ryder was proud to say this was only the third time he'd been in here.

"What happened?" Will asked as soon as the three teenagers had taken a seat. Marley had wanted to sit on the end but she was pretty much pushed into the middle seat and needless to say she was a little uncomfortable with it.

"He just came over and started messing with Kitty and I." Jake practically yelled sending shivers down Marley's spine. She bit her lip and tried to focus on her hands in her lap instead of his obnoxiously loud voice.

Ryder groaned and shook his head while trying his best to keep his blood from dripping all over the place. "He was shoving his tongue down her throat. It was repulsive."

"That's none of your fucking business!" Jake bellowed, standing up with his fists clenched. Marley kept her head down and shut her eyes trying to get her mind to travel to a happier place, one that didn't involve angry guys who wanted to hit something.

"It is when you're doing it in the middle of the fucking cafeteria!" Ryder retaliated, standing up as well. He wasn't going to hit him, he just wanted to be ready in case Jake decided to hit him again.

Marley bit down on her lip hard and started to rub her legs up and down. The heat that the friction created relaxed her but it wasn't working as Jake took a step closer to Ryder. She hoped to God that Will would do something, but he was sitting on his desk watching the two boy release all of their anger on each other.

"Stop..." Marley whispered, not daring to look up at the two boys. "Please."

Ryder turned to look at her and almost immediately a feeling of guilt rushed through him. He sighed and shook his head, taking a step back from Jake. Ryder was never one to step down from a fight and he hated that Jake probably thought he was too much of a sissy to fight him back. Had he fought, however, he would have felt worse for the brunette he had just met yesterday.

"Pussy." Jake spat, chuckling a little as Ryder sat back down, nudging Marley slightly with his shoulder in an attempt to let her know that nothing happened. She however, jumped at the feeling and scooted away from him.

Will looked between the two boys before sighing. "See what you guys did there?"

Marley kept her eyes down trying to calm her nerves making Ryder wonder what she could possibly be thinking.

"You failed to communicate. Ryder, all you had to say was that you didn't want them making out in the cafeteria. Jake, all you had to say was that you didn't appreciate Ryder stepping in the way he did."

Marley's involvement wasn't being questions, making her wonder why she was called down here in the first place. She could feel Ryder's eyes on her but she kept her eyes locked on her fingers in her lap.

"That's stupid." Jake muttered, shaking his head. "He shouldn't have just…"

"Oh give it a fucking rest…" Ryder spat tiredly, touching the bottom of his nose to see if it was still bleeding. He sighed when he realized he was. He turned and saw Marley staring at him almost expectantly. He groaned and licked his lips. "Sorry."

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry." He repeated grumpily. "I'm sorry that I cock blocked you."

Will smiled and stood up, leading Marley and Ryder out of the room. "Marley, please take Ryder to the nurse."

"I don't even know where it is…" She started to say but Mr. Schu shut the door in order to talk to Jake alone. Sighing, she licked her lips and looked up at her.

"Why are you so nervous all the time?" He asked, leading the way to the nurse's office.

"I have my reasons."

He nodded his head and turned down a separate hallway that Marley had never been down before. "You can go back to wherever it is you were going to go now."

"I'm supposed to walk you to the nurse." She answered as she bit her lip. There were pictures on the walls and she hoped that she would never have to deal with having her picture on a wall in a rehab center. That'd just be embarrassing.

"Just go." He growled.

She sighed and stopped walking. "What is your problem now?"

He turned towards her, his face filled with anger which sent shivers down her spine again. "I don't get you sometimes, you know that?! One minute you're telling me whatever! The next you're acting as if you just met me!"

"I did just meet you!" She answered in reply, taking a step back as that only seemed to make him angrier.

"Whatever Marley. Just leave me alone."

She felt tears fill her eyes as he turned and walked down the hallway, leaving her standing there by herself. He confused her so much.

Turning, she walked back down the hallway towards her bedroom. When she entered it, she flopped down on her bed and pulled the covers over her head, hoping that when she removed them she'd be back at her aunt's house.


	4. Chapter 4

Ryder sat in the library at a desk watching as the computer screen came to life. He was angry and honestly felt hurt that the girl didn't trust him the way he wanted her to. But still, as the internet loaded and he saw the familiar search engine pop up onto the screen, he almost felt guilty. Regardless, he typed her name in and waited for several different articles to pop up on the screen.

The next morning, Marley woke up with a start. Today was another group session and then she'd have to talk to Will with Ryder about their assignment. She pushed the thought out of her mind because quite honestly thinking about Ryder gave her a headache.

She grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and made her way to the bathroom down the hall to take a shower. Last night she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow so she didn't have time to take one when she was supposed to.

When she was finished, she quickly got changed before she heard the door slam shut. Just as she was about to throw her towel in the hamper and walk out, she heard the sound of someone throwing up. Quietly, she walked towards the source and saw Kitty hunched over one of the sinks with her hand in her mouth.

"Kitty?" She gasped putting her hand to her mouth in shock. "What are you… what are you doing?"

Kitty quickly stood up straight and wiped her mouth before turning to look at Marley. It was then that Marley saw the tears streaming down her face. She didn't know what provoked her to, or even if Kitty would respond well, but she couldn't help but cross the room and wrap her arms around the girl in front of her.

Kitty didn't push her away until a couple of seconds later.

"Why would you do that?"

Kitty wiped her tears and took a couple steps away from Marley. "My looks are the only thing I have..." She whispered before turning around and walking out of the room, leaving Marley alone in the bathroom.

Honestly, she never thought there was anything wrong with Kitty. She just seemed to have everything in control whenever Marley was with her. It was just now occurring to Marley, though, that they had really only seen each other twice since they got here.

Grabbing her shampoo, she pushed the bathroom door open and walked out into the hallway. There were a couple of teenagers awake now and most of them were heading to the cafeteria, or so she assumed. She was about to open the door to her room to throw her things onto the bed when she saw Ryder sitting against the wall with his guitar in his lap. He was strumming and looked genuinely happy but when he saw her staring at him, he frowned and stood up, stalking off into his room. The door slammed behind him.

The blonde boy, Sam, came running down the hall, stopping in front of her with a smile on his face. "You hear about Will?"

She wasn't used to him talking to her. She didn't even know that he knew her at all. "No. What happened?"

"He's sick. No group session today." With that said he turned and starting running down the hallway screaming about the news that he had just shared with Marley.

Jake walked up with a shake of his head. "He says that every day. Don't listen to him."

"Leave me alone Jake." Scoffing, she turned and threw her stuff onto her bed before stalking off towards the cafeteria where some delicious food awaited her arrival. Jake shook his head out of annoyance before walking towards the library to check his email.

Five hours later, Marley found herself sitting in a circle next to Sam and some girl she hadn't noticed the first day she was here. She had black hair and seemed incredibly shy. It seemed to Marley that the two could become good friends.

"Where's Jake?" Will asked, looking to see that he was already five minutes late.

Not even two seconds later Jake ran through the door holding a piece of paper that he had printed out. He seemed excited about something as he took a seat next to Kitty. "Sorry. I was just surfing the web and I came across something I thought the group should know."

Will was proud that Jake had found something to do with his time other than work through every girl in this rehab center so he nodded his head. "Go ahead. Share it with us then."

Jake stood up and walked towards the edge of the circle so that he could address his peers properly. "It's a safety concern really."

"Hurry up Jake. We have a lot to do today." Will pressed.

"I think we'd all like to know if someone in here has a criminal background, right?"

Ryder looked up with wide eyes as did Marley.

"Where are you going with this Jake?" Will asked, but his words went ignored as Jake continued his speech.

"I happen to know that someone in here has been charged with attempted murder." Jake looked around the room with a smirk as his peers gasped. "She's new and she just so happens to be sitting next to Sam and Tina."

Marley bit her lip and looked down as she heard both Sam and Tina scoot away from her. She deserved it, she knew.

"Shut the fuck up Jake!" Ryder screamed, standing up from his seat, his fists clenched.

"Calm down, crazy. You're the one who had the website pulled up." Jake countered, his smirk still on his face. Marley looked up surprised that the one kids she had trusted the most would do something like this. Clearly, she had been wrong about him. "I just thought that everyone here should know about how Marley tried to stab her mother's boyfriend to death."

"Leave her alone Jake." Ryder insisted, stepping closer to Jake, getting ready to hit him in the face.

Marley sat there completely shocked. How had they found out about that? She literally put all her effort into making sure that nobody knew about it.

"It's a lucky thing he stopped pressing charges when he did right?" Jake taunted her as her tears fell to the floor. "Why is that Marley? He could have had you put in jail. Why'd he let you go?"

"It's wasn't like that!" Marley tried to protest but it was too late. Everyone was looking at her like she was a cold-blooded killer and now that she thought about it, maybe she was.

"Did princess Marley not like the car her daddy bought her?" He taunted as Marley sunk in her seat, feeling more embarrassed than she ever had before.

"You don't know what happened!" Marley yelled, standing up. She winced as everyone else jumped at her sudden movement. They were scared of her.

"That's enough!" Will shouted, waving a guard over to escort Jake out of the room. Marley looked up to see everyone staring at her as if she was some sort of animal. They didn't know the whole story. All they knew was what _he _wanted them to know. "Marley…"

"They don't… You don't know." Was all she could say before she started crying in front of everyone. Ryder's heart broke at the sight of her sitting there in tears and he couldn't help but feel guilty. It was his fault that Jake had found the article.

"Everyone out!" Will demanded, waiting until everyone except for Marley, Ryder and himself were left standing there. "Ryder. Go."

"What happened Marley?" He whispered, ignoring Will as he bent down to kneel in front of Marley. She continued to cry as a new feeling of anger rose within her.

"Why would you do that!?" She screamed, pushing him. He frowned and looked down at the floor. "Huh?! Did you just _have_ to know everything!? Did you just _have_ to ruin this place for me?!"

"Ryder, I think you should go." Will repeated, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"No." Ryder answered, shaking his head. "You said that we didn't know. Explain it."

"No!" She screamed, standing up and pushing him again as he stood up too. "Leave me alone! I never want to see or talk to you ever again."

"Marley…" He pleaded, reaching out to grab her hand. She flinched at the touch before turning around and slapping him in the face.

"Don't touch me." She growled, turning around again and running out of the room.

Ryder stood there with his hand to his face, completely shocked with what just happened. He was infuriated but not at Marley. Jake had some nerve reading that to everyone when he didn't know _anything._

Sure, when Ryder first read the article, he was pissed at the fact that they'd let some sociopath into the place he was expected to live. Who was to say she wouldn't go on a murder streak and murder everyone in their sleep? But as he saw her face when Jake was reading the article, he realized that there was more to the story than what was in the story.

And now she was completely crushed and it was all that dickhead's fault.

"Ryder, we need to talk." Will said, pushing Ryder into the seat that he had occupied before the meeting went to hell.

Marley ran as fast as she could throughout the halls trying to find a quiet place to sit but every corner she turned there was just a new group of kids. She couldn't help but feel self-conscious as their stares penetrated through her being. Regardless, she kept running until she found a door that she hadn't seen before. It was different than the other bedroom doors considering it wasn't a light purple color.

As she opened it, she was met with an old staircase that she wouldn't want to be anywhere near had it not been for her strong desire to get away from everyone. Stepping forward and allowing the door to shut behind her, she collapsed to the ground and let it all out.

She seemed to be crying a lot since she arrived at this place making her wonder if it was their job to make her feel like shit.

Ryder walked out of the lounge with an agenda. He wouldn't let Jake get away with this, not this time. Marley was a nice girl and he had totally abused that. Ryder had too thinking that he could just ignore her rights to privacy but Jake disregarded every feeling that Marley had. So to Ryder, Jake had done worse than he had.

"Puckerman!" Ryder yelled as he entered the cafeteria. Whispers erupted throughout the room as Jake stood up and walked towards where Ryder was standing. "What the fuck is the matter with you?"

"It's not _my_ fault you left the website up." Jake mumbled, crossing his arms and giving Ryder a look that make him want to rip the kid's head off. Taking a deep break, Ryder shook his head.

If he tried hard enough he could control the impulse to beat the living shit out of him. He just had to focus.

"You insensitive _prick."_ He breathed out through his clenched teeth, hoping that Jake would hit him so it'd seem more like self-defense. But Jake sensed this so he remained calm.

_Just breathe Ryder…_ He thought. _Breathe. If you hit him, he wins. _

"What do you care anyway?" He growled, tilting his head to the side the way a curious little schoolboy would if his teacher was trying to explain something too complicated for his mind to comprehend. "Did little Ryder actually grow a heart?"

Ryder shut his eyes tight. _Breathe. _

"You don't actually think you have a chance with her do you?" Jake continued, stepping dangerously close to an infuriated Ryder. "Don't bother man. She's a little _whore _anyway."

Ryder wanted to scream the ears off of Jake and he probably would have if he wasn't interrupted by the annoying sound of Will on the intercom. "Marley Rose. Please come down to my office immediately. Nurses, lock all exits."

Why would the nurses lock the doors? The only time Ryder had ever known them to do that was when Sam had snuck out last month. The reality of the situation seemed to sink in as Ryder thought everything over.

She ran out of the room and he hadn't seen her since.

She was missing. Something happened to her.

"You fucking son of a bitch." Ryder growled as flashes of the innocent brunette flashed through his mind. Without a second thought, he lifted his fist and punched him square in the face. He didn't care when he heard a crack in fact he grinned at the sound. Looking down at Jake, who was on the ground groaning pain, he smiled. "Don't you _ever_ pull shit like that again. You hear me?"

With that said Ryder turned around and stalked out of the cafeteria, leaving behind an injured Jake and a gossip filled group of teenagers to try to find Marley

He'd make it right.

**Thank you guys for the support you've given this story. I honestly didn't think that it was that good when I first started it. I never expected you guys to comment and favorite as many times as you did. So thank you so much for that. It makes my day when I see your comments. **


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Marley crept out of the mysterious stairwell unsure of what time it was. All she knew was her back hurt from sleeping on the concrete floor and that anger was radiating within her. She paid more attention to the latter as she saw Ryder standing at the end of the hallway talking to Will. Both of them looked exhausted and she was so close to feeling bad for them, but then she felt a pain in her lower back and was instantly reminded of the emotional pain Ryder had caused.

She approached them swiftly, fixing her hair and clothes on the way. When she saw Ryder smile slightly at something Will said she was seething. She stopped in front of them with her arms crossed, waiting for them to look over at her. Ryder was the first to notice her standing there and as he took in her appearance he frowned. She looked awful and he knew he was to blame.

"Marley…" He breathed out, relief masking any uncertainty he had at that moment. Before he could say another syllable much less an apology, the palm of her hand was coming in contact with his face. Instinctively, he lifted his hand to the spot she slapped in shock.

"Don't you _dare_ ever talk to me again." She threatened, turning to Mr. Shu to smile at him slightly. "I'm sorry for not responding to your message last night. I was busy trying to sleep in the dumbass stairwell."

Mr. Schuester looked between the two shocked with Marley's sudden burst of confidence. He knew it'd only last so long but he was still proud of her. After what had happened, he was told that she lacked the confidence necessary to succeed in life. Considering it was his job to give it back to her, he felt proud of himself. But still, regardless of what Ryder had done, he didn't deserve to be slapped; especially considering he had been bugging Will all night about what would be done if Marley couldn't be found.

All that worrying didn't seem important to Ryder anymore. Hell, her hitting him in the face was no longer important. What mattered to him was that she was safe. He truly cared. Shocking, he knew.

"Er… Miss Rose, we'll have to talk about this later." Will finally managed to utter, coming to his senses long enough to realize that he was the one with the power. He put his hand on Ryder's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze before he started walking down the hallway. The fire in Marley's eyes indicated Ryder would need all the reassurance he could get.

Ryder watched as Will walked away down the hallway, his shoes squeaking ever so slightly with each step her took. Before turning to face Marley, he licked his lips and sighed. "Marley look…"

"Don't." She spat, turning to face him as well. She had been watching Mr. Schu walk away as well, her confidence seeming to walk along with him. "You don't get to make me forgive you. What you did was nasty and I…"

"Well look who it is…" Someone interrupted her and she turned to see Jake approaching the two. His nose was bandaged up and a good portion of his face was covered in a bruise. Marley bit her lip and looked at her shoes, a gesture that made Ryder tense. "If it isn't the psycho and his ax-murderer."

"Shut up Jake." Ryder warned, stepping slightly in front of Marley as if that would protect her from anything Jake had to say.

Marley chuckled dryly before looking up and past Ryder to see Jake standing there with a glare plastered on his face. She wondered why she ever liked him in the first place. "That's it Jake. I'm a psycho murderer."

Ryder and Jake both turned to her with confused looks on their faces. Ryder could have sworn there was more to the story than what was in the article. She seemed to be telling the truth when she was screaming it at everyone during the group session.

Jake licked his lips and narrowed his eyes. He was only joking around, messing with her. Surely he wasn't right about her being a murderer right? "Seriously?"

Marley nodded, her eyes narrowed as well. "Oh yeah… my step dad was really pissing me off one day so I grabbed a knife and snuck up behind him. And you know what?"

Her smirk was scaring the shit out of Ryder. Crazy people came into this place all the time but he never would have pegged her for one. He was really starting to worry. Jake on the other hand was ready to piss his pants. He had only been kidding but now as she was stepping towards him, he thought better.

"What?" He asked, coughing slightly when he realized his voice had gotten a little too high.

She motioned for him to step closer to her, a command he easily followed. Ryder stepped out of the way so the two could properly speak without him being in between them. Smirking and lowering her voice to a whisper she said, "You're really starting to piss me off too."

Jake gulped, his eyes practically bulging out of his sockets as he backed away from her a little too quickly. Without much warning, he was speeding down the hall away from her, terrified that at any moment she'd chase him. Marley laughed a little, shaking her head at the boy practically peeing his pants.

Ryder bit his lip, terrified of the answers he might receive to his endless list of questions. "Like seriously?"

Marley turned to the other boy she had come to hate. "That Jake was pissing me off?"

"No, the thing about your step dad."

"Yeah. He pissed me off too." She replied honestly. When she saw his skin get a shade lighter she realized she needed to elaborate. "But for other reasons."

"What'd he do?"

"If I told you that I'd have to kill you." She answered with a sadistic smile on her face. Ryder gulped and backed away from her slightly. Shaking her head, she laughed a little again. "Calm down. I was joking. I'm not going to kill you."

"So then you'll tell me?" He asked hopefully.

She thought for a second. Truthfully she had nothing to lose and people had told her talking was the one thing that would make her feel better. But still, he had fucked her over and she wasn't ready to trust him. She wasn't ready to trust anyone.

"Group meeting." A little lady with red hair mentioned, tapping both of the teens on the shoulder. She smiled slightly at the two before moving on down the hall to inform some other kids of the sudden meeting that had been planned no doubt because of Marley.

Silently, they made their way down the hallway to where everyone else was piling into the same room. Normally their group meetings involved 7 or 8 other people but as Marley walked in she noticed far more than 8 kids standing around waiting for Will to start talking to them.

"Most of you don't know each other. You don't know what anyone else has been through but you judge each other heartlessly. Yet, you hate to be judged yourself." Will started, his eyes catching Marley's, Ryder's and Jake's. "So we're going to do a little experiment."

Groans were heard throughout the room and Ryder found himself joining the chorus of annoyed teenagers. Will smiled in response while pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"I'm going to put you into groups of four or five and each of you will be given an assignment." _Groan._ "The first group is going to Lima Memorial's cancer ward." _Groan. _"Ryder, Jake, Sam, Kitty and Marley. That's you guys."

Marley couldn't help but roll her eyes. She had seen that coming from miles away, everyone had. Shaking her head in disgust, she turned to see Jake starting to protest only to be turned down by Will.

"I don't want to hear it. You guys have some problems to work out and what better way to do it than by going to a place where life is cherished."

"This is bullshit." Ryder mumbled, crossing his arms. He honestly didn't think he'd be able to control himself if Jake said anything else.

"Should she even be allowed around people?" Jake asked worried about his own welfare.

Will shook his head, choosing to ignore the two teenagers as he turned to look at Sam who was arguing for a different reason.

"I don't think going to Lima Memorial is such a great idea." He answered, licking his lips as he did so. "My grandma died there and it brings up bad memories."

Marley's heart broke at his words, the look on his face sending a shiver down her spine. "Your grandmother is still alive." Will answered, making Jake chuckle a little. Sam licked his lips and nodded slightly, unsure of how to handle the situation.

"Sam shouldn't be allowed near kids!" Jake shouted. "He'll probably tell them all that Santa Clause is fake."

Marley thought for a second trying to uncover the reasoning behind Jake's statement. "That would be the truth, dipshit." Ryder mumbled, shaking his head at the other boy's stupidity. Marley couldn't help but laugh a little as Jake realized the error of his ways.

"I don't lie about everything!" Sam argued, standing up and walking towards the three of them. Kitty was sitting in her seat choosing to watch the whole situation rather than join it.

"Well how would we know you aren't lying about that?" Jake questioned clearly annoyed with the annoyance he was causing the blonde haired kid in front of him.

"Leave him alone, Jake." Ryder challenged, clearly tired of the conversation, or maybe he was just tired. Marley couldn't tell.

"That is _enough!"_ Will interrupted, making everyone turn towards him in shock. He was almost never stern and Marley had never heard him scream the way he just had. "You're going there tomorrow whether you like it or not. Marley and Ryder, your session in my office starts in an hour. Everyone else, Emma will tell you your projects."

Ryder turned towards Marley expecting to see her smile like she seemed to always do, but she was frowning at him clearly annoyed with the situation.

_It's your fault. _He screamed at himself shaking his head and frowning as well. _You did this to yourself._

**It's been over a week since I last posted and I'm truly sorry for that. Nothing bothers me more than when people take forever to update. I actually had this chapter written but I didn't like the way it turned out so I completely changed it. Originally, Marley and Ryder had a heart-to-heart and it was all cute and adorable, but I figured I'd hold off on that. ;) Oh and I'm also sorry that this one is so short. **

**Merry Christmas! I'll post before New Year. I promise. :) **


	6. Chapter 6

They walked through the doors, exchanging aggravated looks with each other. The only thing the five of them could agree one was the fact that they'd rather be anywhere else than standing in the lobby of Lima Memorial's cancer ward. Miss Pillsbury walked up to the front desk to check the five teenagers in before motioning them forwards and handing them each a pass.

"This is so dumb." Ryder mumbled, yanking his tag from Miss Pillsbury's grasp. Marley rolled her eyes tired of hearing him say the same thing for the past hour as they drove throughout the city traffic to get here.

"So you've said." Marley spat before taking her pass as well. Ryder glared down at the brunette, flashbacks of their session forcing their way back into the front of his mind.

"_So how'd it go?" Will asked as soon as the two walked into the room. Honestly, Will knew the answer. They hated each other. That much was obvious from their encounter in the hallway that he had been unfortunate enough to witness. "Do you understand each other more now?" _

"_No." Marley bluntly stated, feeling anger start to burn its way through her veins. She had to clutch onto the arms of the chair to keep her voice even. "I don't _understand_ why someone would go out of their way to find information about me when they could have just _asked._" _

_Although he knew she was right, he couldn't help but roll his eyes at her constant reminders. "Give it a rest for fuck's sake." _

_Marley crossed her arms and turned away from the boy who was causing her blood to boil. Earlier, her anger had faded but now that she was sitting here being forced to think of their time together, she couldn't focus on the good time they had two nights ago. She was incapable of it. _

"_Don't tell me what to do." She spat, turning to face Will with an annoyed look on her face. "Please, never make me talk to this dickhead again." _

_Will's eyes widened at her choice of words but he quickly shook his head and allowed his thoughts of settle. "I'm sorry Marley but you two are partners." _

_It wasn't supposed to be a multiple week activity. They were just supposed to get to know each other one night and move on to other partners but as Will thought about it, he realized that splitting these two up would only prove to be detrimental. For the first time since Ryder got there, Will had seen him care about another person more than himself. And Marley was showing confidence that Will never would have dreamed of seeing. They made each other better whether they realized that or not. _

"_Then switch my partner." She ordered with an attitude Will hadn't even seen in Kitty, the prissy blonde who apparently had no regard for others around her. "I can be with Tina." _

"_Tina is terrified of you." Ryder pointed out with a dark chuckle. Marley's anger only escaladed when she saw his smug smile. "Just stop being a brat." _

"_It's _your _fault they're all scared to death of me!" _

"_No it's not." Ryder replied growing more annoyed as time went on. "I'm not the one who shared it with the entire world. I was going to ask you about it." _

"_You should have asked first." _

"_I did!" _

"_That's such a lie, it's not even funny." Shaking her head, she once again turned back to Will who looked flustered as ever. Marley sort of felt bad for the man. Clearly, he hadn't expected this little experiment to turn out the way it did. "I don't want to talk about it anymore." _

"_You're the one who brought it up!" Ryder yelled louder than expected. Marley bit her lip nervously and looked down at her hands hoping he'd just leave her alone already. _

"_So is it safe to say that before any of this happened you two were actually getting along?" Will interrupted, hoping the teens would start seeing things his way and realizing that things weren't all that bad. _

"_I guess." Marley whispered, looking down at her shoes as she thought about how she felt when she realized that she could have a decent conversation with someone in this place. But that was gone now and Mr. Schuester needed to realize that before he drove Marley insane. "But that is never going to happen again." _

_Ryder groaned and stood up from his chair. "Get off your fucking high horse, Marley!" And with that said he stormed out of the room slamming the door on the way. _

They haven't talked since.

Sam led the way through the white hallways, claiming that he had been there before and knew exactly where to go but really Miss Pillsbury was secretly directing him. Kitty flounced through the hallways causing a couple of the male nurses' attentions to be diverted towards her. It made Marley sick knowing how she got to look that good.

A female doctor with beach blonde hair escorted them through the halls, stopping in front of a pale blue door. She pushed it open and instantly the teens were met with a group of people, each hooked up to different IVs. Their ages seemed to range from around 5 or 6 to about 89 or so. Marley's heart sunk as she took in the sight.

It was then she decided that she wouldn't look at Ryder or Jake. She knew that if she did, she'd feel the obligation to forgive the both of them right then and there.

"Please don't touch any of the wires. Refrain from cursing and using negative words of any sort. If a parent tells you to stop talking to their kid, you stop. If there are any problems, you talk to me. If you don't follow these rules, you'll be kicked out. Any questions?"

Ryder smirked licking his lips. "You free tonight?"

Marley and Kitty scoffed, shaking their heads. "You're a perv, you know that?"

Emma shook her head and pushed Ryder farther into the room and out of the female doctor's way. How Will had convinced her that this was a good idea was beyond her mental capacity. "I'm sorry about him. They don't get out much."

The doctor nodded her head with an understanding smile on her face. "Just make sure they stay out of trouble please."

"I will."

Ryder looked around the room wondering who to talk to first and what to say when he decided. He watched as Marley and Sam made their way over to the two little girls in the corner of the room. She bent down and started a conversation with one of the girls and Ryder couldn't help but smile at her.

"Is that your girlfriend?" A man with a husky voice asked, interrupting Ryder's train of thought. Chuckling, Ryder turned to see an old man looking up at him. Seeing as he was the only one not talking to anyone at this point, Ryder sat down in the vacant seat next to the man.

"Nah, she's a handful." Ryder admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as he risked a glance over at her. To his surprise, she had been looking at him. He smiled but she had already turned away and refocused her attention on the little girl in front of her. "Being civil with her is just too hard. She's so annoying sometimes."

The man chuckled, nodding his head up and down with a look of certainty in his eyes. "Listen here young man…"

"Ryder." He interrupted with a small smile. "My name is Ryder."

"Well Ryder, you're never going to find a woman who isn't aggravating. Trust me, I've been around longer than you could imagine." Ryder laughed a little, nodding his head.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks man."

They were interrupted by the sound of a metal chair hitting the floor loudly. Ryder turned to see Marley standing up with wide eyes. A man in a long white coat was standing in front of her, his arms up as if he was telling everyone he was completely innocent in whatever situation had just occurred.

"What are you doing here?" Marley asked, her voice shaking in a way Ryder had never heard. He felt himself standing up but he didn't know what to do.

"I work here." The man said, turning to give everyone an apologetic smile before facing Marley again. Ryder had absolutely no idea what the hell was happening, much like everyone else in the room. "How's your mom? I haven't spoken to her in a while."

"She's _fine._"

Ryder stepped forward slightly as Ms. Pillsbury managed to assure everyone that everything was fine but Ryder could tell that it wasn't. Eventually the patients resumed their own activities as did the teenagers. All of them except the doctor, Marley and Ryder.

The doctor reached up and touched Marley's cheek, an action that caused her to wince and jerk away. "I've been meaning to stop by and see how you're doing."

"D-don't touch me." She bit her lip and looked down at the floor, making Ryder instinctively take another step towards her. He was still pretty far away when she turned towards him. When she saw him looking towards her she seemed to get embarrassed. "I have to go."

She pushed past Ryder and practically ran into the hallway, the door slamming shut behind her. Biting his lip, Ryder looked back at the man who seemed to shrug it off. Emma looked in the direction Marley had just left and shook her head slightly, figuring that she'd just come back when she was finished with whatever it was that she was doing. Ryder on the other hand, walked swiftly into the hall, looking both directions in an attempt to find where Marley had run off to.

"She's not worth it, you know." The man who had been talking to Marley said, coming up behind him. He was a doctor. That much was obvious as Ryder took in his entire outfit. He had black hair, but some of it had turned gray probably from all the stress that his job caused.

Ryder bit his lip before shaking his head slightly. "What happened in there?"

The man chuckled a little before putting his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. "I knew her mom and just thought I'd say hi is all."

"Why is she scared of you?"

"She never warmed up to me is all." The man spoke before his pager started beeping. He excused himself and started running through a pair of doors. Ryder watched him disappear behind them before he saw Marley sitting on the floor. Her image faded as the doors slammed shut.

Biting his lip again, Ryder walked through the same doors and stopped right in front of the beautiful brunette. She looked up at him and wiped her cheeks. It broke his heart to know that she had been crying. He looked around and saw they were in a stairwell and the man was no longer in sight.

"I was just about to go back in there. I just…" She started to speak quickly, dusting her hands on her pants and getting ready to stand up.

"Marley, don't." Ryder spoke softly, walking a couple steps so that he was standing next to her. Gently, he sat down right beside her and turned to look at her. "What happened? Who was that guy?"

"It's nothing, Ryder. We're going to get yelled at if we don't get back in there." She snapped. "Just leave me alone."

"Look, I didn't come in here just so you could blow me off." He explained, somewhat annoyed now. "I came because you look like you need someone to talk to and I know what it's like not to have that."

She looked at him for a couple of seconds before sighing and placing her head in her hands. "I'm sorry. I just- it's complicated and I don't-you'll just judge and I can't…"

"You're joking right?" Ryder breathed out, laughing slightly. He stopped when he noticed her was shaking her head at him. "I would never judge you Marley."

"You say that now."

Ryder leaned forward and put three of his fingers up in the air before placing his right hand on his chest. "Scout's honor."

Marley giggled and shook her head at him. "You weren't a boy scout."

"Sure I was. I joined when I was 4 but they kicked me out because I put some gum in this kid's hair. He was a real douche bag."

Marley laughed again before shaking her head in order to clear her thoughts. When she walked into the stairwell and practically collapsed on the floor she felt worthless, completely depressed with her life. But when Ryder walked in, the room appeared to light up as her mood changed to match that of a little kid's on Christmas: happy and excited. She found it amazing how that seemed to happen.

Ryder let out a breath. "Look Marley, you don't have to tell me. Like I said you just seem like you want to talk to someone. If it's not me you want to talk to, that's ok."

"My dad died when I was ten and my mom went through an alcohol stage. During the day, she'd go to the bars and come home with different guys. One of them just so happened to be _that _guy who I didn't even know worked here.

"He was different than the other guys for a couple reasons. The first being, he seemed to actually care about my mom and me. The other guys came in and left the next morning. He stayed and actually appeared to want to get to know me. It was like he was trying to be my dad and that was alright because I needed one.

"But then one night…" Marley gulped and looked down at her clasped hands. She took a deep breath before continuing. "My mom had had _a lot _to drink and she passed out before he could get what he wanted from her so he snuck into my room. At first I thought he'd just come in to say goodnight but I was _so _wrong."

Ryder took a deep breath while closing his eyes slowly. He knew where the story was headed, or at least he assumed he did. Honestly, he was praying he was wrong.

"He came over and made me take my clothes off. I was _eleven_. Eleven!" Marley screamed, growing angrier as the time passed. "I tried to tell my mom but she assured me that I was making it all up for attention. Is she an idiot? What kind of eleven year old makes up the fact that she was raped?"

"Well anyway, the doctor left a couple weeks later and more guys came into the picture. As time went on, the guys got worse. Most of them were rude but they never touched me like he did until my mom met this guy named Rick. She met him when I was 15 and married him three weeks later."

"Is Rick the guy in the article?" Ryder spoke softly afraid to interrupt the atmosphere of the room. A couple nurses passed, giving them strange looks as they went.

"He got mad a lot and his stress reliever was to take his clothes off and find me or my mom. Most of the time it was me." She licked her lips and looked down in her lap. "He came home one day and I just couldn't take it anymore. I hid in the bathroom cabinet and I had the knife just in case. I didn't honestly think he'd care enough to find me but he did. I tried to tell him that I had the knife but he didn't want to listen so I just… did it."

"It was in self-defense…" Ryder whispered, mostly to himself as he tried to comprehend every part of what Marley was saying.

"I wasn't thinking. It just happened." Marley whispered running a tired hand through her hair. She took a couple deep breaths to level her breathing before she felt two arms wrap around her tiny body.

At first she tensed and tried to get out of his grasp, but after a couple of seconds she gave up the fight. He was stronger than she was anyway.

"I'm so sorry Marley." He whispered repeatedly, rubbing her back up and down. She ignored his words as his intoxicating smell filled her nostrils.

The door opened and they both looked up to see Sam standing there with his arms crossed. "Ms. Pillsbury is looking all over for you guys. Why are you in here?"

Marley sniffled and wiped her face before standing up and smoothing her jeans. She looked down at Ryder who was giving Sam a strange look. "Let's go."

Ryder groaned before taking her hand and pulling himself up. He was surprisingly comfortable sitting on the floor and talking to Marley. It made him happy to know that she trusted him enough to share all of that.

"Hey Marley? I've been meaning to ask you..." Sam started as he followed the two out of the stairwell. "Do you only murder men or could you do me a favor by killing Kitty?"

Even though he tried his hardest not to, Ryder laughed a little before ruffling his hair through Sam's hair. "What'd Kitty do to you?"

Marley shook her head and walked ahead of the two boys so she didn't have to hear their stupid conversation. Ryder watched after her as he listened to Sam explain some extravagant story involving Kitty and witchcraft.

There were footsteps running down the hallway and Ryder managed to get himself and Sam out of the way as doctors ran passed with a bleeding man on a gurney.

It only took 5 seconds for them the push Marley out of the way, 2 more seconds for her to start to fall over, and 3 seconds for a guy walking out of a patient's room to reach out and catch her before her butt hit the ground, but to Ryder it felt like a century.

**This seems like a really random ending to this chapter and it is. I admit that, but it would have taken up ten more pages if I kept going with some of the drama that is about to unfold and I know you guys have a life outside of reading this story so I just decided to end it here. **

**Some of you wanted the Ryley fluff so there you go. This chapter is for you. And don't worry. There's still plenty of time for badass Ryder to make some more appearances. It's so fun for me to write him as a jerk. **

**I told you I'd update before New Year's. :) **


	7. Chapter 7

Letting out a breath that he hadn't noticed he'd been holding, Ryder watched as the guy helped Marley back to her feet. His relief changed to rage, however, when he realized who it was that had caught Marley.

He watched as she bit her lip and shook herself free from his grasp, a tiny smirk playing at the man's lips. Ryder clenched his fists and stomped over to the two, stepping in between them so the man could no longer look at the brunette.

_Fucking perv. _Ryder thought to himself, cracking his knuckles in an attempt to calm himself down. _Alright, Ryder. Breathe… _

"Th-thanks." Marley whispered before shaking her head and grabbing Ryder's arm in an effort to get him away from the man. Marley was happy and pretty proud of herself when Ryder obeyed and followed her away from the man and back into the room with everyone else.

"What the hell is this?" Jake asked, walking up to the two who were basically walking hand in hand. Both teens blushed and tore apart from each other, both upset with the lack of contact they now shared. "Are you two really going to do this?"

"Shut up." Ryder spat before crossing the room to play with some of the girls who looked bored. Marley watched with a tiny smile on her face as Ryder pulled a board game from a shelf and motioned everyone over.

Jake watched in envy as Ryder was able to form a group of about 13 people to play a stupid game with him. It wasn't fair that nobody looked twice at Jake without coming to the conclusion that he was a bad ass who couldn't possibly care about anyone but himself. When he walked over to the two little girls their mothers were more than happy to voice their negative opinions of the boy and he was forced to talk to someone else.

They trusted Ryder over him? If only they knew the truth.

Kitty on the other hand was jealous of someone else entirely. The brunette sitting with her legs crossed and a smile gracing her features seemed to have the world in her hands and didn't even know it. But Kitty did and she'd give anything to have it. Marley was beautiful and perfectly skinny but she didn't even have to try. Kitty on the other hand wasn't so lucky, or at least she didn't believe she was.

But even as the envy raced through her veins, she couldn't do anything about it because Marley was nothing but nice to her in the bathroom and like it or not, Kitty appreciated that more than anything.

"It's time to head back." Emma interrupted the game halfway through, tapping the shoulders of Sam, Marley and Ryder who were engrossed in a very intense game of Monopoly. The two little girls made noises of protests that didn't go ignored by the teenagers sitting around them.

"Can't they stay a little longer?" A blonde little girl asked, tugging on Emma's pants in the sweetest way. Emma merely smiled and bent down to the girl's level.

"They can't sweetie. Maybe we can come back again some time."

Marley felt uneasy about that suggestion. Sure, she loved spending time with the kids but she had no interest in coming back to the place where _he_ worked. Maybe she'd tell Will about her the cancer ward made her feel sick and that she really didn't want to go back.

Ryder smiled a little and kissed the little girl's forehead before standing up and dusting his pants off. He then reached his hands out and helped Sam and Marley to their feet.

"Can we grab McDonalds on the way home?" Jake suggested as they all entered the van. Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head disgusted with the thought of that greasy food.

Kitty looked around nervously, catching the eye of Marley who smiled slightly in response. "There's a mall a couple of blocks down with an amazing food court." Marley offered, smiling as Jake frowned in her direction for suggesting anything other than McDonalds.

"We really need to get back." Emma urged, putting the keys in the ignition and waiting as the car roared to life. "Will is going to kill me if we're late."

"Aw come on Ms. Pills." Ryder pleaded, leaning forward in his seat which was directly behind the driver's seat. Kitty was seated next to him and Sam, Marley and Jake were in the very back seat. "We won't let Mr. Schu kill you."

Sam leaned forward as well before offering his opinion on the matter. "Besides if anyone was going to kill you, it'd be Marley."

Marley rolled her eyes and turned to glare at Jake who was chuckling at the comment. When he noticed her glare, he immediately stopped and cleared his throat. "That isn't funny man." He replied, turning to give Marley a small, awkward smile.

"If we're going to a mall, can we go shopping?" Kitty asked making everyone else roll their eyes.

"We aren't going to a mall guys." Emma answered as we turned onto the turnpike. "There is dinner waiting for you at home." Ryder groaned and fell back in his seat as the rest of them sighed in annoyance.

The silence was getting to be too much for everyone in the car, including Emma who had previously been more than happy to hear silence. "I spy with my little eye something that is… green." Sam finally blurted out.

Jake turned to look at him with a questioning look, surprised someone as old as Sam would want to play such a pathetic game. But seeing as he was incredibly bored, Jake decided to play along. "Ryder's shirt."

"My shirt isn't even green." Ryder commented as he looked down.

"His shirt is blue." Sam muttered in disbelief.

"My shirt is red." Ryder insisted, looking down once again to make sure his shirt was in fact red and not green or blue.

"It looks orange to me." Kitty joined in, turning to face the other teenagers. Marley looked up and laughed as Ryder blinked his eyes a couple of times as if to readjust them before looking at his shirt.

"I don't know. Looks a little purple." She added with a smirk on her face.

"It's red." Ryder muttered, shaking his head and turning to stare out the window. "Is it the grass?"

Jake narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Is what the grass?"

"The thing." Ryder answered, turning to point at Sam. "His thing. You know the green thing he spied."

"I lied, you guys." Sam murmured, upset with himself. They all turned to look at him. "It was Ryder's shirt."

"My shirt is red!" Ryder screamed as Emma pulled into the driveway of the rehab. Will was waiting outside with his hands on his hips.

They all got out of the car laughing, except for Ryder who was looking down at his shirt completely confused. Maybe he was going crazier than he thought.

"Have fun?" Will asked surprised with the change in attitude that the teens seemed to have. When they had left this morning they were arguing and shoving each other. Now they were all smiles, except for Ryder who didn't appear to like his shirt. "What's wrong with your shirt?"

"He's just mad it's green." Marley offered, turning to give Ryder a teasing smile. Sam nodded his head in agreement and Kitty laughed a little.

"It is a red shirt!" He screamed, pushing past Will to enter the building. In seconds he was out of sight.

"I seem to have missed a lot." Will muttered, turning away from where Ryder had gone to give the teens a weird look. "Emma, I need to talk to you."

Emma nodded and started walking up the steps to the front door, the rest of them following behind her. Sam walked quicker so he could walk next to Emma.

"If he tries to kill you, just scream and we'll save you." He assured, patting her on the back. She sighed and smiled at the boy who was now racing off screaming after Ryder. The other three teens were quick to follow behind and nearly knocked her over as she entered Will's office.

"How were they?" He asked, sitting down in the seat next to her. She licked her lips and smiled with a nod of her head.

"They weren't bad. There was only one incident where Marley ran out of the room with Ryder behind her but they came back maybe 20 minutes later." She explained, running a tired hand through her hair.

He nodded his head and leaned down to connect their lips. "Thanks for taking them."

"We're in this together." She smiled and connected their lips again, not appreciating how quickly he pulled away.

As the love they felt for each other filled the room, Ryder found himself in a different state. He was laying upside down on his bed, looking at his phone in disbelief. She was joking right?

He jumped when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in." He grumbled, and watched as Sam walked into the room.

"Hey man." Sam mumbled, sitting at the desk. "How come you get your own room?"

Ryder sat up quickly trying to find an excuse that wouldn't make his dad seem like a total dickhead, which was seemingly pointless at this point. "My dad paid extra. I don't know."

"Why?"

"He doesn't want me with everyone else." Ryder explained, only realizing how that sounded after it had left his lips. "He doesn't want me to hurt anyone else."

"Then why is Marley allowed to room with Kitty?"

Ryder put his hand to his forehead and started rubbing it. He was growing annoyed with Sam's constant questions. Although Ryder wondered the same thing at first he felt an obligation to defend the brunette but he wasn't sure how to do that without yelling at the blonde haired boy in front of him.

"I don't know Sam." He finally muttered, lying down so his arms were behind his head. "You'll have to ask Marley."

Jake barged through the door with a giant smile on his face. Ryder was somewhat annoyed with both boys. He never had anyone in his room and in the past 2 days he had 3. It made him somewhat uneasy. "You guys want to play hide and seek?"

Although Ryder hated the boy standing in the door he couldn't help but marvel at the fact that he had some great ideas. First McDonalds and now hide and seek. He sat up and pushed himself off the bed, grabbing Sam and dragging him into the hallway as well.

This could be fun.

**Please review! This took me forever to write and I had to keep erasing everything because I didn't like the direction. So please review :) It'd make my life. **

**Oh and who would you like to see in the story? Kurt or Blaine? It can't be both and you'll see why eventually. And anyone else you want to see? **

**I hope your 2013 is amazing. Happy New Year!**


	8. Chapter 8

Ten minutes later and Marley found herself curled up in a tiny cabinet in the kitchen trying to keep still so she wouldn't make too much noise and give herself away. However, the longer she sat in there, the more cramped and claustrophobic she seemed to get. Taking the chance to peek out, she was confronted with the darkness of the kitchen. Deciding the coast was clear, she pushed the door fully open and practically fell out of the cabinet, hitting her knee on the floor.

"Fuck." She whispered, rubbing her knees. She could hear Jake outside talking to someone and knew she had to act fast before he found her. Crossing the room, she quickly opened the closet door and shut the door behind her, letting the darkness cover the room again.

As she sat down, she felt two hands on her back pushing her forward. She froze immediately, suddenly terrified of what it was that was in the darkness.

"Who's there?" She whispered, backing up until her back touched the door. She was about to open it too and stumble out when a light was shined in her face.

"Marley?" The voice asked obviously a little surprised. The light moved and she could see Ryder standing there with a frown on his face. "You can't hide here."

She frowned and crossed her arms. "And why not?"

"I was here first." He argued ignoring her pout. "I already kicked Sam out so don't even think that face is going to work."

"But the cabinet is so uncomfortable…" She complained, keeping her bottom lip out in a pout. "Please?"

"It's not my fault you're a dumbass." He rebutted, looking up with wide eyes when he heard the kitchen door slam shut. He groaned and grabbed Marley's shoulders, practically throwing her to the floor. Within seconds she was being dragged backwards so her back was against a wall. "Stay still."

Her hand moved to her back where she felt a throbbing pain and she looked down at her knee that now was red from carpet burn. She looked up only when she felt him sit down beside her, their hiding space blocked by a bunch of boxes that Ryder had stacked up.

"That hurt." She mumbled, only to have her mouth covered with his hand. He was taking this game far too seriously for her liking but she was afraid of what would happen if she argued.

The door opened and the light from the kitchen shined into the room, illuminating Ryder's face in the perfect way. Jake looked inside, only seeing boxes in front of him. He frowned. He had honestly thought that someone would be stupid enough to hide in the dark closet. This game was going to be harder than he thought.

"You're so loud." Ryder commented once he heard Jake leave the kitchen completely. Marley scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You're just rude."

"I am not." He argued, a small smile taking place. "I just don't like to hide with anyone."

She thought for a second unaware of how to voice her question. "Why don't you like people?"

"I do too like people!"

"No you don't."

"Yes I do!"

"Name one."

"I like you don't I?" He offered as a blush crept onto her face followed by a smile. "And Sam…" And just like that the smile disappeared.

"Why are you in this place?" She asked after a couple more seconds of thinking. He sighed and hung his head down as he remembered the text message he had received earlier. "I told you."

"It's complicated…" He answered, licking his lips and turning to see an unimpressed look on the girl's face. She wasn't even mad that he didn't want to tell her; she was just disappointed. She figured after what happened in the stairwell he'd trust her.

"And my story wasn't?" She challenged now somewhat annoyed.

"Look, it's just…" He started before stopping himself when he heard footsteps. They vanished and he refreshed his train of thought. "it's just a lot."

"Well…" Marley started. "It appears we have a lot of time."

The night dragged on for the other teenagers who weren't lucky enough to have someone to hide with. They were all found within an hour and Jake was proud of himself for managing that. But now he had been searching for Ryder and Marley for 5 hours now and he was growing more tired as the time went on. It was already past midnight and Will was getting annoyed with the game. He couldn't even call for Ryder and Marley over the intercom without waking everyone else up and causing some sort of pandemonium.

"Maybe you should just leave them." Emma suggested, touching Will's shoulder soothingly. He shook her off and continued down the hallway, looking everywhere for the two (including under the rug even though he knew that was impossible).

He had been a teacher, a camp counselor and a daycare worker and he never once lost a kid. Now, in a rehab center filled with teenagers, he had lost two. Jake turned the corner and shook his head at the expectant teacher. Will sighed and crossed his arms.

"You can go to bed Jake."

"I'm really sorry Mr. Schu." Jake murmured before sulking off to his room and collapsing on his bed. As he laid down and stared at the ceiling, he couldn't help but reflect upon the day's events.

Within minutes he had drifted off to sleep, only to be awakened the next day by an announcement. "Marley and Ryder, the game is over. Come out from hiding." Will's tired voice said interrupting the silence that had once filled Jake's ears.

Jake wasn't the only one to be awakened by Will's request. Marley jumped awake, unaware of where she was. In front of her were piles of boxes but she was too comfortable to move to see what they were. Stretching, she felt her hand hit something and she looked up to see Ryder lying beside her with his arm wrapped around her delicately.

She quickly sat up, completely disregarding the fact that the back of the closet had a shorter ceiling. Cursing as she bumped her head, she turned back to the boy who hadn't even stirred. She bit her lip contemplating her options. She could just leave and pretend this never happened or she could wake Ryder up and _try_ to pretend like nothing happened.

"Ryder." She muttered, shaking him with as much strength as she could. He pushed her away and rolled over so that he was on his side.

"Leave me alone." He replied tiredly, yawning slightly as he got comfortable again.

"Get up." She urged, smacking his arm repeatedly.

"Fuck. Stop hitting me." He yelled, stretching. "Why are you hitting me anyway?"

She looked around in the closet and sighed. "I think we're in trouble."

"Shit. What time is it?" He asked, sitting up quickly and banging his head just like Marley did about a minute ago. She couldn't help the giggled that passed through her lips. "Ouch."

"I left my phone in the room. What time _is _it?" She waited as he pulled his phone out and frowned at what he saw. "What happened?"

He looked up at her for a second before shaking his head. "N-nothing. It's 8 in the morning."

"Did they just forget to look for us?" Marley asked, crawling out of the little opening that Ryder had left in the boxes. He followed after her and waited patiently for him to open the door.

"Fucking Jake probably left us here on purpose." Ryder spat as he stood up outside the closet in the kitchen. When he turned around he saw most of the lunch ladies staring at him like he was crazy. Smiling awkwardly, he waved and dragged Marley out of the kitchen and into the cafeteria. He looked around and saw other people sitting down and eating breakfast. "Food?"

She yawned and shook her head. "No. I'm going back to bed."

"Marley and Ryder get to my office." The intercom sounded, making Marley blush a little bit. "_Now."_

Marley gulped as she forced her feet down the hallway with her head hung down to avoid the stares of some teenagers standing around watching them. Ryder too, even though he didn't normally care, was beginning to grow embarrassed with the overwhelming attention they were receiving.

"Where the fuck were you guys?" Jake asked, walking alongside Marley. Ryder growled at the kid who had left him in a pantry all night. "We looked _everywhere."_

"The kitchen." Marley answered when she noticed that Ryder was just going to ignore him. Jake looked at her confused, ready to argue with her because he had looked throughout the entire kitchen, but he was interrupted by Will coming into view. He ushered Ryder and Marley into his office before shutting it behind them.

"Alright, we're starting to have a problem." Will stated simply as he watched the two teenagers fidget uncomfortably under his gaze. "This is the second time you two have wandered off together."

Ryder narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What was the first?"

"Emma told me you guys wandered off in the hospital yesterday. You didn't return for twenty minutes." Ryder nodded as the memory returned to his mind. Marley bit her lip as she waited for Will to continue. "Now I know what it's like to be a teenager. You think that you know what you're getting into, but you don't. You have to be careful with this."

It was Marley's turn to be confused as Will looked at them expectantly. Ryder could feel his face turn red as he realized what it was that Will was alluding to. "I-I don't know what you're saying."

"Marley, you don't have to lie to me." Will pressed giving her a sympathetic look. "If you two are choosing to take your relationship to the next level, I'm not going to judge you."

"But we're not even.." Marley tried to explain but she was cut off by Ryder.

"It's not like that!" He urged, his face still as red as a tomato. "In the hospital something came up and she had to leave the room. And last night she had the stupidest hiding spot and _made_ me share mine. We just fell asleep, I guess."

Marley was barely listening at this point. She was still trying to wrap her head around the idea that Mr. Schuester thought she was having sex. She got nervous just talking to guys let alone removing her clothes in their presence.

"What happened in the hospital?" Will asked, looking at Marley who was too engrossed in her own thoughts to answer. "Marley?"

She looked at him and looked at him questioningly. _Way to keep their attention_. He thought before opening his mouth to ask the question once more. He was interrupted however by his phone ringing.

"What's up with you?" Ryder whispered so as not to interrupt Mr. Schu's phone call. "You seem out of it."

"Do I look like a whore?" She whispered in return, looking down at her clothes. She was wearing sweatpants and a college t-shirt her aunt had gotten her. Ryder chuckled and shook his head a little.

"Do I?" He asked and watched as Marley looked him up and down. He was somewhat insulted when she nodded her head. "I do not!"

"You look like a Hollister model." She simply answered, turning back to look at Will when he hung up the phone.

"So that makes me a whore?"

She rolled her eyes and turned to look back at him. "No. It just means you're attractive." And that's about the time that her cheeks turned redder than he had ever seen them.

He raised his eyebrows and smirked a little as he looked down at himself. "How does being attractive make me a whore?"

"I'd love for you two to continue this conversation but I'm late to another meeting." Will stood up and fixed his tie before ushering the two out of the office. He was met immediately by two men and a teenage boy. "I was expecting you at seven."

Marley looked up to see who Will was talking to and her eyes were met with a teenage boy with dark brown hair. It was slicked back and he wore a smile on his face, obviously oblivious to the hellhole he had walked into. He was pretty good looking and she couldn't stop herself from staring.

"I'm Blaine Warbler." He introduced himself after feeling the brunette's gaze. He grabbed her hand and kissed it sweetly making Marley blush and Ryder narrow his eyes.

"Marley." She managed to spit out before being grabbed by Ryder and dragged down the hall. "Ouch. Stop touching me. You're hurting me."

"I know him." Ryder muttered before leading her into the cafeteria. "Trust me when I say you don't want to get involved with that."

"And just why not?" She challenged, crossing her arms across her chest. "People told me not to trust you either."

He rolled his eyes and licked his lips. "Well for starters, his last name is Anderson not Warbler."

**So this is going to start being updated once a week (maybe twice a week) because unfortunately there's this place they call school and I have to go back to it. It sucks, I know. So updates will be on Saturdays unless I say otherwise. **

**Special Thanks to (for reviewing chapter 7):**

_Iheartart13 (your comment made me smile and I totally agree with you about Blaine)_

_iluvwillschuester (You always make me smile with your PMs and your comments)_

_Alli-Loves-Glee (thanks so much for your compliments. It makes me so happy to read comments like yours.)_

_Gleek/Guest (thanks so much. I will try my best to write for Rachel and Santanna)_

_Reflections of Twilight (You are one of my favorite people. Lol. I love your comments so much. Thanks.)_

_Sara/Guest (I don't even know where to start. Your comment made me smile for a really long time. You have no idea. Thanks so much!)_

_Rita Ortiz/Guest (thanks so much for your comment! If I answered your question I'd have to kill you. Lol. Jk. Maybe/hopefully soon.)_

**If I missed anyone, I'm sorry but it's really late and I'm super tired. Plus I'm getting over food poisoning. Stupid Applebees… :/ Anyway, thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment. It means so much to me every time I get an email from FF. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Marley bit her lip and waited for Ryder to continue but when he didn't she decided to press him on the issue. "Why would he lie about his name?"

Ryder sighed and shook his head. He liked knowing everything he did but the reasons behind his knowledge made him sick. Looking around, he sighed again when he realized that Marley was not the only one who seemed interested in the conversation. Jake and Kitty has somehow found their way over to the table that Ryder and Marley were occupying.

"Who are we talking about?" Jake asked, making Marley jump out of surprise. She hadn't even noticed that he was sitting next to her. Ryder glanced in his direction before shaking his head.

"No one." He finally answered when Marley remained silent. Jake nodded his head and took a bite of the pancakes he was having for breakfast. Kitty watched him slide the first piece in his mouth in envy. Why she couldn't have been born a boy so she wouldn't have to worry about calories was beyond her understanding at this point.

"Where were you guys last night?" She asked in a way to distract herself from her somewhat empty stomach. Of course it wasn't really empty. She had toast yesterday night and she even added butter.

Marley looked at her and shrugged her shoulders. "If we told you now then we can't hide there next time."

Ryder chuckled and shook his head. "Schu won't let us play again."

"Why not?" Jake asked, putting some more pancakes into his mouth. Kitty cringed as the smell filled her nose.

"He thinks we had sex." Ryder answered with a smirk on his face. Kitty looked up as the potential gossip filled her ears.

"Did you?" She asked suddenly, leaning forward in her seat. Ryder was honestly surprised. This was the first time he had a conversation with her and she seemed really quiet yet here she was asking about his sex life. He could only blame the face that she was a girl.

Marley blushed and shook her head. "No."

"Hey guys!" Sam greeted as he threw his three servings of pancakes onto the table. Along with the pancakes were some eggs, sausage, and some French toast. He had also picked up the greenest apple available so he had some aspect of a healthy diet. "What are we talking about?"

Kitty eyed up his plate trying to practice as much self-control as she possibly could but it was becoming harder and harder as the intoxicating smells filled her nostrils. She needed to get out of the cafeteria but at this point she couldn't move her. The growling in her stomach was controlling her thoughts and she knew she'd give in eventually. Did she care about her weight anymore? She wasn't really sure.

Quickly, she reached over and grabbed some of Sam's French toast and shoved it into her mouth, savoring every piece of grain that touched her taste buds. It'd been years since she indulged like this and she wanted to yell at herself for it. But as the food vanished from her mouth and started its course to her stomach, a new feeling flew through her mind. Surely the calories in a piece of French toast were abundant. It was common sense.

And as she ran from the table down the hall into the bathroom it became apparent that she did in fact care about her weight. It was all she cared about.

Marley watched in worry as the blonde ran out of the cafeteria. Maybe she left her phone or something? The brunette wasn't sure so she turned back towards the guys who were staring off in the direction of the blonde completely dumbfounded.

"What was that?" Ryder asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Jake shrugged his shoulders and Sam looked helplessly at his plate.

"That was my French toast." He frowned, and pushed his tray away. "Now my meal is ruined."

"Just get some more." Jake offered tiredly as he grabbed the blonde's fruit. "She acted like she hadn't eaten in days."

And then a thought occurred to Marley. She knew exactly what was going on. Standing up and following the girl as quickly as possible she ran to the nearest bathroom hoping that maybe Kitty was there. Luckily as she opened the door, she heard the sobbing coming from one of the bathroom stalls.

Slowly, she walked over to the source. "Kitty?"

"Go away!" The blonde snapped before wincing. Marley frowned and pushed the bathroom stall open anyway.

"Kitty!" Marley screeched as her eyes wandered around the stall. Not only was there puke in the toilet somewhat resembling some French toast but a red gooey substance was covering the floor around Kitty's feet. "What happened?"

"You don't understand!" Kitty screamed, wincing once again in pain. Marley looked around and pulled some toilet paper out of the dispenser. She then knelt down beside her and wiped Kitty's forehead where a little sweat was accumulating.

"You're beautiful Kitty." Marley spoke after a couple of seconds. "You don't need to do this to yourself."

Kitty sniffled and nodded her head before reached out and grabbing the tissue paper from the brunette. She'd heard that before but it didn't change anything. People lied to spare other's feelings and Kitty was sure that was all anyone else was doing.

Ryder looked after Marley as she ran in the direction Kitty had gone. It wasn't a surprise that he was confused and the other two boys were thinking the same thing.

"What the fuck is going on with them?" Jake mumbled, looking down at his tray and pushing some of the pancakes around. Seconds after he spoke another brunette sat down next to him with a water in his hand. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Blaine Warbler." The gel-haired boy introduced himself, holding his hand out for Jake to shake. "And you are?"

"His name is Ferdinand." Sam informed Blaine as he took a bite of his eggs. Ryder chuckled under his breath before Jake glared at him.

"Hello Ferdinand." Blaine announced, turning to look at the other boys at the table. "Who are you guys?"

"I'm Ryder." Ryder mumbled surprised that the kid would even ask. "You lived next door to me. Our moms were best friends. We carpooled."

Blaine shook his head, clearly confused. "I think you're mistaken."

"Whatever." Ryder mumbled before his eyes locked with Will's, who was standing at the cafeteria doors motioning him over. Reluctantly, Ryder stood up and walked towards Will who led him to his office.

"I understand you've met Blaine before?" Will asked as soon as Ryder sat down but all Ryder could think about was the fact that he had been in this place for weeks now and had seen the inside of this office more times in the past two days than he ever had before. "Ryder?"

"Oh yeah. Right." He answered licking his lips and looking at his shoes. "He lived in my neighborhood."

"So I've heard." Will responded easily, coming out from behind his desk so he could talk to the boy appropriately. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"He doesn't remember that he knew me so it doesn't really matter."

"If it's bothering you then it matters." Will pressed, watching as the boy seemed to think about his words. It looked as if he was about to release everything he kept bottled up inside but before Will even knew what was happening Ryder stood up and stormed out of the room.

It wasn't bothering him. Nothing bothered him.

Marley led Kitty into the almost vacant cafeteria and helped her sit at a table in the corner. Without saying anything else, she got into line and grabbed herself some cereal and an apple for Kitty. One step at a time was all Kitty needed.

Kitty tried her hardest to smile but it was a failed attempt and she knew it. How could Marley expect her to eat this when she had just indulged on French toast? It didn't make sense. But still, Kitty took a small bite and allowed the sour taste to fill her mouth.

"Hey ladies." Someone said, sitting down next to Marley. She tensed at the presence before looking over and seeing the boy from earlier sitting next to her. "Fancy meeting you here."

"It's the cafeteria." Kitty breathed out, clearly unimpressed with his flirting skills. Blaine nodded his head and smirked, leaning forward so he was in Kitty's face.

Marley ignored her and turned to face the boy. "You're Blaine right?"

Blaine nodded his head and smiled. Kitty looked back and forth between the two before rolling her eyes and scoffing. It wasn't fair that Marley had Ryder and this new kid, even if Kitty thought they were both annoying. She knew why guys avoided her. It was pretty obvious. Her weight was out of control.

"I don't believe I know your name?" Blaine inferred coolly and Marley looked and pointed towards the blonde.

"This is Kitty and I'm Marley."

Blaine chuckled and bit his lip. "Like the dog?"

Kitty stifled her laughter nearly choking on her apple as Marley scrunched her eyebrows. First encounter and he was calling her a dog. Perfect.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I have to call Kurt." He remarked, turning around and walking out of the cafeteria to his room in order to call his beloved boyfriend.

Marley sat down across from Kitty, a disappointed look on her face. "Well that was embarrassing. A dog?"

Kitty laughed again and shook her head to try to get herself to stop. Jake walked over in confusion and sat down next to her, taking the apple out of her hand and taking a bit of it himself. "What's so funny?"

"That's _mine." _She snatched the apple and put it into her mouth. "And none of your business."

"Do I look like a dog?" Marley asked, grabbing the ends of her hair and holding them in such a way so she was looking at them. Yeah, she needed a haircut but to be compared to a dog? She didn't think it was that bad.

"That new kid basically called her a dog."

"You mean that Blaine kid?" Jake asked as he tried to grab the apple again. Kitty smacked his hand away as she nodded her head to his question. "He's crazy."

"We all are, aren't we?" Marley tested feeling the need to jump to the boy's defense. They both looked at her somewhat insulted until they realized that in a way she was right.

"No but he's literally crazy." Jake insisted, his eyes growing bigger as the interest the two girls were showing him began to feed his ego. "After you guys left he was talking to me and Sam and every once in a while he'd turn his head and whisper something. It was freaky as fuck."

"Maybe he was just…" Marley started but she couldn't find a legitimate explanation. It didn't matter though because as Ryder sat down beside her, Jake continued.

"No. He was talking to _someone._ He's a nut job." Jake pressed.

Ryder scrunched his eyebrows. Normally he wasn't very nosy but considering the day's events he allowed himself to ask the question he was confident he already knew the answer to. "Who are you talking about?"

"That new Blaine kid." Kitty answered, swallowing the last bite of her apple. Marley smiled at her feeling pretty good about herself, like she had done a good deed.

"He's a freak man." Jake added.

Ryder shook his head as guilt coursed through his body. "Shut up, dude. You have no idea who the fuck you're talking about."

Marley looked over at him in surprise. Ryder didn't seem like the type of guy to defend someone who was being picked on. But now that Marley thought about it, it seemed to make sense. He did beat someone up for making fun of one of his neighbors.

"I was just saying…" Jake started but Ryder had heard enough. He stood up and stalked out of the cafeteria for the second time that day, allowing the door to slam shut behind him. The teenagers looked after him confused.

They were all thinking the same exact thing. _What the fuck just happened?_

**I'm going to update this story again on Wednesday because I already wrote chapter 10 and it's pretty much about Ryder and I loved writing it. So I thought I'd let you know that on Wednesday chapter 10 will be up. **

**When I get emails from FF saying that you guys reviewed, favorited, or followed this story I literally can't help but smile for hours. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this story. It means way more than you could ever imagine. **

**Special thanks to (for reviewing): **

**Alliej-1: **Thanks so much for the review. I can't wait for you to see what happens either. :)

**DrewLucyJaria: **Thanks so much for the review. It made me smile.

**Reflections of Twilight: **Actually I'm starting to think I just had the stomach flu. Thanks so much for reviewing! Again, your reviews and guesses always make me smile. Oh and thanks for telling me that Sam has dyslexia too. I just re-watched the episode with it. I totally forgot about it.

**Guest 1: **Thanks so much. I love writing for Ryder so much which is why I'm excited for the next chapter.

**Iheartart13: **I don't know if I said this last time, but I love your username so much. Thanks for reviewing again. :)

**Iluvwillschuester:** Thanks for the review! It makes me so happy. I promise I'll be reading your story as soon as I'm finished uploading this chapter and I'm super excited. You told me about Sam's dyslexia too so thanks for that as well! :)

**Sara/Guest: **Thanks so much for reviewing again. Your reviews are always so long and they make me smile. Haha when I write for them I'm screaming too lol.

**Serendipulous: **I love your username. Just thought I'd throw that out there right away. :) Thanks for reviewing and being so nice. I love all of Ryder too. He's my favorite character to write for. :) Thanks again for the review.

**Alaska/Guest: **That means so much to me, you have no idea! Thanks so much for making me smile with your review! :)

**Thanks to everyone reading this story and be ready for a chapter focused on Ryder on Wednesday! Have a great rest of the weekend. **


	10. Chapter 10

_There were lights surrounding them even though it was dark out the last time Ryder checked. He was covered in liquid but it wasn't the rain that was falling outside. His body throbbed and he turned to see a familiar man staring at him expectantly. Ryder cleared his throat and tried to talk but he couldn't form the words. _

"_Did you hear me?" He asked and all at once memories flooded his brain, starting with the loud screeching sound that resulted from metal colliding with metal. That sound was the last thing Ryder heard before his entire life seemed to change. _

_But what was the man asking? _

"_Ryder!" The man screamed, making Ryder jump. He could hear sirens in the distance but he didn't know what they were. He didn't know what anything was. "Focus!" _

_Ryder licked his lips and scrunched his eyebrows, trying his hardest to form the word. "What?"_

"_Switch seats with me." _

Ryder jumped awake, nearly falling out of the tiny bed that had become his. He was sweating and his covers were sprawled out on the floor. Looking over at his phone he saw the combination of letters and numbers: 3:43 am.

He wiped his face and tried to level his breathing but he knew it was a lost cause. He had had that nightmare far too many times to know that the memory would always haunt him and keep him from sleeping. It was inevitable.

Once he was able to, he stood up in order to grab his blankets and try to go back to sleep again, but he became distracted by the dryness in his throat. He grabbed his phone and exited the room, walking slowly down the hallway towards the lounge where there was a water fountain.

"Get over yourself, Ryder." He whispered to himself as he bent down to let the water enter his mouth. It tasted so good.

_I'm not going to be able to sleep._ He reminded himself as he pushed his feet towards the door. Turning around, he spotted the empty couch and slowly walked over to it. As he sat down he threw the blanket around him and watched the clock tick, his eyelids growing heavier with each second that passed.

Blaine woke up slowly looking around the empty room. When he was back home his brother and him had always shared a bedroom and Blaine had learned to appreciate the presence of someone else. But he didn't have a roommate here and he hated it already.

He looked at the clock and saw that it was already 8 in the morning. Will had told him that they would have a session today at noon. He wasn't exactly sure what they could possibly talk about but he knew that Kurt would be upset if he skipped it. Kurt always inspired him to be a better person. Just the thought of the brunette cutie made Blaine smile. Only a couple more hours until he could hear his voice again.

Yesterday he didn't have much time to explore this place so he walked throughout the halls in an attempt to see what there was to do here. He didn't even know where here was. All he knew was that he had been in 3 other buildings, much like this one, in the past 3 months. He hadn't seen Kurt in 4.

A set of double doors at the end of the fifth hallway he had walked down caught his eye. His feet eagerly led him towards them and he pushed them open. It looked like an area where people just went to to sit and talk to each other. There were arcade games against the wall and a television that was facing a couch and two chairs.

"_Jesus."_ He breathed out as he put his hand to his chest. A guy was laying on the couch sleeping and the sight had scared the crap out of him. Blaine, seeing no problem with it, walked over and shook the boy awake. "You're hogging the couch."

Ryder woke up slightly irritated until he saw Blaine standing over him. He quickly shot up and moved slightly so the other boy had enough room to sit down. Blaine smiled and obliged, grabbing the remote from the side table and flipping the television on to his favorite channel. Ryder watched the boy in wonder as his mind drifted to dark memories.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Blaine muttered out in an attempt to get Ryder to stop staring at him but that only confused Ryder more. "Look dude, I have a boyfriend."

Ryder shook his head and licked his lips. "I'm not... I'm just… you honestly don't remember me?"

"You're the guy from the cafeteria."

"Yeah but you don't remember knowing me before that?" What was weird to Ryder was that Blaine wasn't _acting _any different than he used to but even so it didn't seem like anything about the boy was the same. When Blaine shook his head in response to Ryder's question, Ryder sighed. "Did you have neighbors?"

"Yeah but I never really knew them."

_Well that's a lie._ Ryder thought remembering all the times they had played in his sandbox and ran through the sprinklers.

"And… and you're gay?" Ryder asked remembering the comment Blaine had said earlier.

"I've been dating the same guy for 2 years." Blaine nodded in confirmation.

As much as it killed Ryder to admit, that too was a lie, but Blaine might never know that. Ryder shook his head and turned towards the television where an old episode of Spongebob was playing. They remained quiet until other people began to pile into the room, Will among them.

"Hey Ryder." Will greeted, patting Ryder on the shoulder. Ryder knew exactly what Will wanted but he figured that if he didn't acknowledge his therapist, he'd just go away. Sadly, that didn't happen. "Did you sleep in here?"

Ryder sighed and ran a tired hand over his face. "Yeah."

"Are the nightmares back?" Will asked and Blaine turned to give the two a questioning look.

"I have the same nightmare all the time." Blaine offered, doing his best to make Ryder, his new friend, feel normal. "It's raining outside and I'm in a car but it crashed or something, bright lights are everywhere. I have no idea what it means, though."

Ryder felt his mouth go dry as he stared at the boy in disbelief. He shot up instantly from the couch causing a couple of kids to look over in his direction to see what was going on. Will, too, found himself staring at the teenager in disbelief. Ryder on the other hand had just been confronted with the one thing he never wanted. His mind was spinning, his thoughts racing.

_This can't be happening._

Marley and Kitty walked into the lounge to see who was truly the best at Pacman. Last night they got into a huge fight about the arcade game and challenged each other to a tournament. As Marley walked through the doors though, she was met with an image she never thought she'd see. Ryder Lynn seemed upset and overwhelmed.

And just as she was about to walk over to see what was going on, he was falling to the floor.

"Ryder!" She yelped, running over to where he was now lying. Will pushed her away slightly and called for someone to grab a nurse. Kitty was the first one out the door.

His eyes were closed and if Marley didn't know better she'd have thought he just decided to sleep on the floor. Will was dabbing the boy's face with a washcloth that Blaine had brought over seconds ago. Ryder was pale but his eyes were moving underneath his eyelids. It was as if he was dreaming.

"_Switch seats with me." The guy requested but Ryder still wasn't sure he understood what was going on. He looked around and in the distance he could see blurry red and blue lights. They appeared to be getting closer. "God dammit, Ryder. Listen to me!" _

"_B-but my scholarsh… I can't… what happened?" Ryder stammered out as he painfully began to realize what had happened and where he was. The guy groaned and grabbed Ryder by the arm, pulling him towards him. At first Ryder thought it was a hug and couldn't help but think that this was a completely inappropriate time for hugging. But before he even knew what was happening, his butt was in the driver's seat and the other guy was sitting in the seat that was once occupied by Ryder. _

"_You won't get in trouble for this Ryder." The guy muttered out as Ryder whined in desperation. Why did he have to switch seats and why the fuck did his head hurt so much? "This will be your first offence." _

"_But I wasn't… you were driving." Ryder whispered as he heard tires screeching to a stop a couple yards away. He could hear screaming but he wasn't sure of who it was. _

"_Just keep your mouth shut and it'll be ok." _

_Ryder wanted to respond, to object and tell him that this was wrong but he couldn't see the lights anymore and everything he had been hearing was fading. Seconds later, his eyes slid closed and a terrifying darkness took over. _

Ryder's eyes flew open and he shot up. His breathing was heavy as he tried to get out of the bed. Wait. Why was he in a bed? He couldn't remember anything.

"Here's some water." He heard someone mumble and he turned to see Will standing there holding a glass of water and a plate with something on it but Ryder couldn't tell what it was. "Drink it slowly."

"What happened?" Ryder asked as soon as he was finished with the glass of water. He felt dizzy and his mouth was still dry but he wanted answers more than he wanted relief.

"You scared us out there." Will said, pointing towards the door. Ryder rubbed his head as he tried to remember anything at all but sadly his head was blank. "You passed out."

Ryder bit his lip and nodded even though he had no recollection. The last thing he remembered was having a simple conversation with the new kid. _Blaine._ Memories of this morning swept through him and he was faced with the fact that Blaine had nightmares about it too.

"It wasn't…" Ryder started but he cut himself off as familiar words repeated themselves in his head. _Just keep your mouth shut and it'll be ok._

Will leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and letting his hands dangle between his legs. "You can tell me Ryder."

"I wasn't…"

_Just keep your mouth shut…_

"Nothing will hurt you, Ryder. You can trust me." Will pressed sensing hesitation in the boy's voice. Ryder sighed, frustrated with himself as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

"The accident wasn't…" Ryder shut his mouth forcefully and shook his head.

_Mouth shut…_

"It's alright." Will continued once Ryder stopped talking once again. He could tell the boy was having trouble fighting his own demons but in order for Will to help, he needed to know what happened.

Ryder sighed and thought about his options. He could be honest and finally admit to the one thing that was haunting him all this time. On the other hand, he could continue to live with the guilt of not only himself but someone else.

_Just keep your mouth shut and it'll be ok._

"I wasn't driving." Ryder finally blurted out as he covered his face with both his hands. To his disappointment, relief wasn't coursing through his veins as he had expected it to. Instead a new, different feeling of guilt made itself present.

"Who was?" Will asked softly, reaching over to put a hand on Ryder's shoulder but Ryder didn't want to answer. He couldn't answer.

_Just keep your mouth shut and it'll be ok._

Marley stood outside the room waiting for any sign of Ryder's wellbeing but she had been standing there for about 2 hours already. Kitty had been with her for the first 20 minutes or so but she grew bored rather quickly and went to find Jake or Sam to talk to.

Will exited the room holding an empty glass and Marley took that as a sign to leap towards the room in an attempt to get in. "Can I go in now?"

"Marley, I don't think you should be in there right now." Will murmured stepping into the brunette's way. Marley sighed and shook her head. "He needs to rest."

"I just…" Marley began trying to put her thoughts into one sentence. She sighed and shook her head again. "Look, I saw him collapse to the floor. I just… I need to see him."

Will reluctantly let her pass as he fought his better judgment. Marley smiled and pushed through the door. Ryder was lying on the bed with his arms over his head and Marley's heart sunk. Was he asleep already?

Turning so he was facing whoever had walked through the door, he opened his eyes and saw her standing there with a frown on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see if you were alright."

"Well I am." He breathed out licking his lips. "Now leave."

_Leave?_

He didn't mean it, she assured herself as she looked down at her feet. He couldn't mean it. They were friends and these were the types of things friends didn't do. But as she looked up and was met with his aggravated eyes she couldn't help but wonder if they even were friends.

She felt tears start to form as she bit her lip and tried to swallow the lump that was now present in her throat. "You want me to leave?" She asked softly, fearful of the answer that would come out of his mouth.

"Get the fuck out Marley." He ordered, shaking his head in disgust at her being. Was he actually disgusted with her? Of course not. But he was scared and fear makes people do crazy things.

And just like that he watched her leave, the door slamming shut behind her.

**So I almost forgot that it was Wednesday because I have finals this week but luckily I looked at the calendar. I honestly can't thank all your guys who read and review enough. Thanks to: **

**Iluvwillschuester: **haha I know! The first time she was on the show I hated her name because it made me think of that stupid sad movie. Literally I couldn't see her on screen without thinking of that poor puppy. lol. But now I love it. Thanks for reviewing! :)

**Fiona Heartirite/Guest: **I'm working on it. I promise. I'd say that around chapter 13 or 14 something with happen.

**Sara/Guest: **HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL! That's so exciting! How old are you? I'm going to eat a piece of cake for you. Haha. I love Sam. Haha. He's so adorable. Thanks (again) for the long review. They always make me smile.

**Reflections of Twilight: **I LOVE your predictions even though sometimes when you're right they make me nervous. Haha. Thanks for reviewing again. :)

**Guest 1: **Thanks so much for the review! :)

**Guest 2: **Thanks for reviewing again! Your reviews always make me smile. I'm excited for your guys to learn more about Ryder too. :)

**DrewLucyJaria: **I love your icon! I don't know if I told you that last time but I really do. Thanks for reviewing again! Makes my day.

**Alaska/Guest: **You're welcome! Thanks so much for reviewing :)

**Alli-Loves-Glee: **Awwww thanks so much. I love Ryder in this story too. :) It's so much fun writing for him. I'm glad you were excited. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. Thanks so much for the review (again). :)

**Guest 3: **Your wish is my command. I really like that idea too. :) Thanks for the review and suggestion!

**Guest 4: **That makes me smile so much because sometimes when people say they ship Jarley I feel like yelling at them because in my opinion Ryley is so adorable. But I don't because I think Jarley is adorable too. So I'm really conflicted. Lol. :) Thanks for reviewing!

**Serendipulous: **I honestly can't get over the perfection of your username. Lol. Haha you'll find out eventually. When I was first writing for him, I couldn't help but wonder the same thing. Thanks so much for reviewing again! :)

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Writing to you guys was a nice distraction from studying (not that I've been doing that very well). I've really just been watching The Biggest Loser with my mom and my fat cat. Lol. **

**Next update on Saturday! **


	11. Chapter 11

Ryder walked, or rather stumbled, out of the nurse's office with Jake at his side. The boy had devised a plan and Ryder was a major part of it.

"What happened to you man?" Jake asked as they slowly started to walk down the dark hallway. "You look like shit."

Ryder knew he didn't mean it as an insult but he still rolled his eyes anyway. Leave it to Jake to kick people while they're down… even if it was an accident. "Thanks." Ryder mumbled sarcastically, still feeling a little lightheaded from earlier.

Jake nodded before pushing Ryder into the lounge, which was pretty much as dark as the hallway. Ryder blinked a few times before looking around, his eyes met with nothing but darkness. Theories as to why Jake wanted him in here flooded his mind as he fought to adjust his eyes so he could at least see something.

"You aren't going to like beat me up or something, right?" Ryder tested, turning slightly so he could at least talk in the direction he had last seen Jake standing. "Because that'd be pretty sick."

"You would know." Jake muttered before flicking the light switch on. Ryder blinked a couple more times before turning so he was facing the lounge again and was met with Marley, Kitty, Sam, Tina, and Blaine sitting there patiently.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ryder asked in confusion. "Why the fuck were you all sitting in the dark?" Ryder looked around the room nervously afraid of where this was going. "You _all_ aren't going to beat me up are you?"

"We're going to play manhunt." Sam announced excitedly, as he jumped up and ran to hug the boy. "I'm glad you're ok."

Marley smiled as she watched Ryder hug the boy back uncomfortably. Kitty nudged her slightly, reminding her of the encounter she and Ryder had had earlier and she forced herself to frown. Sam let go of Ryder and walked back towards his seat next to Marley.

"I uh… I can't play manhunt." Ryder mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

"Don't be silly." Kitty spoke up, standing up with a smile on her face. "You already have a really good hiding spot apparently."

"You can be on my team!" Sam exclaimed, standing up once more. Marley smiled at him before frowning when Jake interrupted.

"For the last time, Sam, you're not a captain."

Sam frowned before slumping back into his seat. Ryder furrowed his eyebrows before looking towards Jake. "Who are the captains then?"

"Me and you."

This was weird for Ryder. Since when had the two of them gotten along enough to give the other a position of power? While contemplating this, he looked over at the teens sitting in their chairs. Tina was sitting there looking down at her feet and Blaine was staring at his phone with a frown on his face. Marley was watching Sam with sad eyes and Sam looked like he was literally about to cry.

"Sam can take my spot as captain." Ryder nodded, walking over to sit on one of the chairs. He was becoming lightheaded again and quite frankly he really just wanted to sleep. "I don't think I'm going to play anyway."

Marley looked over at him as he rested his head in his hands. He really did look exhausted but she was still mad at him for yelling at her like that. She only wanted to make sure he was ok.

"Just play." Marley pressed after the others stayed silent. Ryder lifted his head to glare in her direction.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Marley urged, straightening up. "Stop being such a drama queen and just play."

Ryder licked his lips. "Marley, stop."

"Don't tell me to stop! Just play!" She screamed. It wasn't clear to her why she was pestering him. Maybe it was for a reaction or maybe it was just because he had pissed her off. Either way, she was enjoying the fact that she was clearly aggravating him. "Because you're really starting to piss me off!"

"I can't play with him!" Ryder retaliated, standing up and pointing towards Blaine who was confused and surprised at the same time. "I can't even _look_ at him without feeling sick to my stomach!"

Sam patted Blaine on the back as if to say he had his back before he stood up. "Is it because he's gay?"

"You're gay?" Jake asked surprised with how this evening seemed to be turning out.

Ryder rolled his eyes before shaking his head. "Who the fuck cares if he's gay?!"

Seconds later the lounge doors were slamming open and a very annoyed looking Will emerged with a tired Emma by his side. "What in the world is going on in here?"

"You don't even know me!" Blaine defended himself causing Ryder's attention to be once again diverted. "What in the hell did I ever do to you!?"

"I don't know you?" Ryder repeated with a sarcastic tone. "I know you call your boyfriend _every_ day but he never answers you. I know that you haven't seen him in _four_ months. And I know _exactly_ why and I know that you don't. Hell, I know more about you than _you_ do."

Blaine swallowed a lump in his throat before continuing to stare at the boy in front of him. Marley, too, was shocked with what had happened just because she decided to pester the boy who didn't seem to be breakable.

"_Fuck." _Ryder mumbled, smacking himself in the head out of frustration. "Are you fucking happy now Marley?"

Marley watched in pure shock as Ryder stormed out of the room letting to door slam shut behind him. Honestly, she didn't want to make him upset. Well, that was a lie. She did. But she wanted him to be upset with _her, _not Blaine.

"Is Ryder gay too?" Jake voiced.

"No." Will answered, putting his hand on Blaine's shoulder. "You all should get to bed. We'll talk about this in the morning."

"How'd he know all that?" Blaine whispered, putting his hand to his head. A headache was starting to form.

Marley sighed and walked out of the room with tears in her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to upset everyone but that's all she seemed to be able to do lately. As she passed by Ryder's door, she noticed that it wasn't closed all the way and she heard something shuffling inside. Biting her bottom lip, she pushed the door open and walked in.

"Ryder?"

She heard him groan but couldn't see his features in the darkness. "What do you want now?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." She walked towards the bed where she saw the silhouette of his body sitting. "I acted like a bitch, which is strange because I'm not a bitch." She took a deep breath before adding once more, "and I'm sorry."

Ryder sighed and ruffled his hair in frustration. He hated the effect she had on him. There was nothing more Ryder wanted to do than just ignore her for the rest of his time in here, than to yell at her for making him freak out like he had. But a part of Ryder didn't want any of that at all and no matter how hard Ryder tried to suppress that part of him it fought back twice as hard.

"I just wanted you to know that." She mumbled after the boy had remained silent. Marley wasn't sure exactly what she was supposed to say or do so she started walking back towards the door.

Ryder sighed before giving into his own desires. "Marley? Wait." He stood up and walked over towards the door as well, stopping in front of it before flicking the light on. "I'm sorry too."

"For what?" She asked before looking up at him. His eyes were red and puffy and his skin was splotchy as if he had been crying. "Are you ok?"

He shrugged before walking over towards his bed. "I was a jerk to you in the nurse's office. I didn't mean what I said. I just… it's complicated."

"So you keep saying." She mused, pulling him towards the bed. She pushed him slightly so that he was now in a seated position at the foot of the bed. "Do you remember what you told me in the stairwell?"

He furrowed his eyebrows before licking his lips. "That I was a boy scout?"

She giggled before shaking her head. "No. You said that you know what it's like not to have anyone to talk to. I can change that. You can talk to me."

Not knowing what else to say, he nodded his head smiling small but not enough to convince her than he wanted her here. There was silence for a while before Marley sighed and patted the boy's head. It wasn't exactly the most romantic move she had planned on but she didn't know if he wanted a hug.

"You should sleep." She whispered, waiting as he looked up at her. He truly looked distraught, as if she had interrupted him from a memory he wasn't grateful for anyway. Reaching forward she wiped a tear away with her thumb before turning around and walking back towards the door. "I don't know what happened to you but I do know that it will get better. I promise."

"Hey Marley?" Ryder voiced once she had opened the door. "Is… Is Blaine alright?"

"I'm not sure. I left right after you." She smiled small. "Besides, it's nothing you can't fix."

And with that she left him there, alone with his thoughts, something he didn't want to be. But he was too exhausted to follow after her. Fainting can do a number on a person. So instead of following her out of there, he laid down and covered himself with a sheet, allowing the darkness to once again envelope him as his mind surrendered to the nightmares he'd be sure to have.

Marley walked slowly down the hallway towards her and Kitty's room, unable to shake the picture of him crying. From the first time she saw him he seemed unbreakable, like nothing affected him at all, but in the past few days she had witness the breakage of Ryder Lynn. She hated herself for bringing the vulnerability out in him. He was strong but Marley had broken him.

"Hey. Mr. Schu is pretty mad." Kitty mumbled when Marley walked into the room. Kitty's light was on and she had a book in her hand but they both knew she hadn't been reading it. "Where did you run off to?"

Marley licked her lips, choosing to walk over to her bed and sit down rather than stand there and watch Kitty judge her. "The stairwell." She lied, pushing the sheets back and tucking herself in.

"Don't let what Ryder said affect you sweetie." Kitty soothed, reaching over to put her book on the end table next to the lamp. Marley almost questioned the blonde, denying she ever talked to the boy until she realized that Kitty meant what he said in the lounge. "He's a jerk."

"No he isn't." Marley snapped before yanking her covers up over her head. "Maybe if we all just stop judging each other we could actually leave this place before we're 80!"

Kitty didn't know what to say so she just reached over and turned the light off before tucking herself in as well. Allowing Marley's words to sink in, she rested her head on her pillow. There was some truth in the brunette's words. If nobody judged people the chances of Kitty winding up in the place would have been slim.

But that wasn't how the world worked and anyone would be naïve to think that it would ever change. People judged each other and that would never be different. But it seemed as if Kitty was the only realistic one in the room.

Unfortunately, Marley thought the opposite. People changed all the time and if people just changed their perspective of the world and those around them then there would be no need to judge everyone. Clearly Marley was the only rational thinker of the bunch.

Blaine, on the other hand, couldn't get to sleep. What Ryder had claimed had struck a nerve in the brunette, even though what he said was completely false. Kurt answered him all the time. But as Blaine scrolled through his phone he couldn't find a single message from his boyfriend. He must've accidentally deleted them all. Or maybe Ryder had when he wasn't looking.

Maybe Ryder really was gay and had done this all out of spite of Kurt?

Or maybe he was just a homophobic jerk. It can be said that fear drives a person to do crazy things, such as claim things that just weren't true, so it made sense that Ryder would be a jerk after finding out Blaine was gay.

But still that theory seemed implausible seeing as Ryder had somewhat defended Blaine when Jake seemed repulsed at the idea of Blaine's homosexuality. Plus, there was something about Ryder that seemed familiar to the boy.

Perhaps the most legitimate theory would be that Ryder was crazy.

Whatever the case it exhausted Blaine to think about the endless possibilities. He just needed to sleep. He smiled thinking of where his dreams would take him before he pulled the blankets up to his neck. He'd see Kurt again. It was only a matter of time.

**Finals are over! Woo. But now I have to do all the summer work that I decided not to do in the summer. I really hate my procrastination sometimes. :P Well, some of you think you know what happened with Kurt, Blaine and Ryder and I think that's funny because I'm not even sure yet. Lol. I have two options in my head and I'm not sure which way I'm going to go with it. **

**Anyway, thanks to my lovely reviewers because I love you all. **

**Sara: ** I did enjoy your birthday cake. Lol. I had my mom go to the store and buy a cake. She was confused. Oh well. Thanks so much for saying that. I never would have imagined this would be anyone's favorite story. :) Oh and by the way, this is going to sound really random, but are you a RPer on Tumblr?

**Serendipulous: **Haha. It's now become my goal in life to punch you in the face with every chapter I write. Lol. Who do you think was driving the car?

**Guest 1: **I LOVE super long reviews. Lol. Ryder is by far my favorite character too but most of the next couple chapters will focus on other people while I work on figuring out the rest of his story line. I was really mad at myself for writing their fight but they'll get over it…. Actually they just kinda did at the end of this chapter.

**Reflections of Twilight: **haha. I just get nervous because I feel like when you guess right (which is more times than I can count) that I'm just being super, super obvious. I hope your tests went well. I'm pretty sure I failed my calc final but whatever. Who needs calculus?

**Gillian Deverone: **He was saying that Blaine hadn't dated the same guy for 2 years. I would never ever make Blaine straight. Lol. I love him and Kurt too much to do that. :) Thanks for the review! It makes my day.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Thanks so much! You're so sweet. :)

**iluvwillschuester: **Well you're just going to have to wait for the rest of Ryder's story because I'm not sure what the rest of it is going to be. Haha. :) Thanks so much. That means a lot. & don't be silly. You could write about the teletubbies and I'd STILL read your stories because you are an amazing writer. Besides, I love wemma. :)

**Thanks to everyone who reads this story and I'm sorry that this one doesn't really have much drama in it. I just needed a filler for the drama to come. **

**Have a great rest of the weekend while I do my summer work. :/ **


	12. Chapter 12

Marley walked down the hallway the next morning with a confidence in her step that even she hadn't seen before. People stared at her but she couldn't care less, which was out of the ordinary for the girl who hated attention. After giving the subject much thought, she decided that the only way to make it out of this place alive was to accept who she was and change what she didn't like. Now, the girl was on a mission and she wouldn't let her insecurities get in the way of the goal: Freedom.

She knocked on Ryder's door fiercely and waited for him to open it. He looked tired and a little annoyed with the interruption, making Marley forget why she was standing there. _Don't let him affect your confidence._ "I need to talk to you."

Ryder furrowed his eyebrows and looked past her into the hallway. There were kids staring at the two of them and he wasn't sure why. They were all asleep last night when the drama had occurred so why in the hell were they staring at him and why was Marley standing in front of him demanding him to talk to her? "Uh… ok?"

"Things are going to change." She firmly stated, crossing her arms and taking a step back. He scrunched his eyebrows as he waited for her to continue talking. Obviously she felt the need to go on a rant and who was he to stop her? Besides, he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to. "You are no longer going to affect me."

He licked his lips before stepping out into the hallway and closing his door behind him. "I'm not going to what?"

She wasn't expecting him to leave his room. "I'm no longer going to sit up at night thinking about what you mean when you say certain things. I'm not going to try to get you to talk to me when you have no interest in it because quite frankly it's exhausting. I'm not going to take your shit anymore."

"When did I ever throw my shit at you?" He asked, cocking his head to the side with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up. You know what I meant." She growled but she was unable to keep herself from smiling. "I'm getting out of this place."

"Really?" Ryder asked, his head burning to hear her response. She had only been in here for two weeks if that and he had _just_ seemed to reach common ground with her. He didn't want her to leave, which bothered him. "When?"

She licked her lips before uncrossing her arms from her chest feeling defeated. "Well, I'm not sure exactly but I'm working on it."

"We all are."

"Well I'm going to succeed!" She pushed, crossing her arms again as her confidence came back to her. "By not shying away from _everything._ That's step one."

"I wish you luck." He smiled before pushing past her to walk to the cafeteria. "You hungry?"

There was no reason to not talk to him anymore even though her mind was telling her not to. If they became friends, which seemed to be the way things were going, she'd be devastated when she left this place. But still, everyone needs friends and it'd just be wrong to deny Ryder of that privilege, or at least that was what her excuse would be.

Really, she just liked hanging out with him, which wasn't something she'd ever admit if anyone asked.

"Always." She finally answered before running up to meet him. They walked in silence to the café and remained silent until they sat down with their food.

"So… you think about me at night?" Ryder asked suddenly with a smirk on his face. She blushed and took a piece of his pancake. "Am I ever naked in these thoughts?"

She giggled and shook her head. "No. Thank God."

His smirk vanished and instead was replaced with a glare. He contemplated what to say before muttering a simple, "Liar."

She laughed, nearly choking on the piece of pancake in her mouth. "I guess you'll never know." She teased as she took a bite of an apple she had picked up.

"It's cool that you aren't going to take any crap from anyone." Ryder commented with a smile on his face. "But you shouldn't focus on me. I haven't done anything to you. That Jake kid though…"

Marley sighed before rolling her eyes. "You were the one who googled that…"

"I'm not saying that I didn't." He replied, swallowing a piece of his pancake. He looked down at his plate unsure of what to say. "So are you just going to stop being friends with people then?"

"I don't have friends here." She commented without really thinking it through. Ryder nodded his head with a distant look on his face. "Well, I just mean that…"

"You don't have to explain. I know what you mean."

Suddenly the playful atmosphere vanished and was replaced with one full of tension. Marley cursed herself for creating a problem while Ryder bit his tongue to keep himself from lashing out. He wasn't going to yell at her. His anger was directed at himself because it was _his_ fault that they weren't friends. He had pushed her away and probably made her feel like shit after yelling at her all those times. But still, it hurt him to know that she didn't think they were friends.

"Hey guys!" Sam bellowed as he sat down next to Marley. "Crazy night last night huh?"

Ryder nodded his head not fully paying attention to the blonde. He was too busy wrapped in his own thoughts about how much of an idiot had been. Marley too was busy thinking about how stupid she had been to say what she had.

"Hey Sam, do you consider Marley a friend?" Ryder finally decided to ask making Marley scowl in his direction. When Sam nodded his head in response to Ryder's question, Ryder added, "She doesn't think of you as a friend."

"Ryder!" Marley yelped, turning towards Sam ready to defend herself.

Sam looked at Ryder and then at Marley. "Why not?"

"I never said that." Marley defended, turning to glare at Ryder. "Tell him you're joking."

"Do you not like me Marley?" Sam asked with a sad look on his face.

Ryder finally sighed and shook his head. "I lied, Sam. She never said that."

Sam scrunched his eyebrows before looking back at the boy in front of him. "Lying is bad, Ryder. You should stop that."

Ryder chuckled at the irony of the blonde's statement before shaking his head. Marley, too, felt herself give into the humor of the situation by smiling small.

"I'm going to go get my food now." Sam muttered after a couple seconds of silence. Without another word, he got up and walked over to the wide selection of breakfast foods.

"Sorry." Ryder muttered instinctively.

"No you aren't." Marley responded, crossing her arms across her chest. "But it doesn't matter because like I said, I'm not going to worry about why you do things anymore."

His eyebrows rose as if accepting some challenge that Marley didn't even realize she suggested. "What if I said that I was in a fatal car accident? Would you worry then?"

She bit her lip before nodding her head. "Did you get hurt?"

"I was in a coma for two weeks." Ryder confirmed, nodding his head with a smirk on his face. "Care yet?"

"No and you know why?" She asked. He nodded in response before leaning forward in his seat. "I know you're lying."

"Oh really?" He asked licking his lips. "I broke my arm too." He pulled his sleeves up to his elbow and Marley couldn't help but marvel at how fit he seemed to be. "I needed surgery because it was such a bad break."

Marley leaned forward too after looking at the scar carefully. "You're lying."

They were centimeters apart and it took all of Ryder's being to keep him from going insane. Honestly, he just wanted to close the gap between them but he kept his composure. "Blaine was there too."

"Get a room." Jake spoke before Marley had a chance to gasp at this new information. "You feeling better dude?"

It took Ryder a couple seconds to realize that he was being spoken to. He really had to get used to the fact that Jake saw him as a friend now. "I guess."

"Is _that_ how you know him?" Marley asked, interrupting their conversation. Ryder turned towards her with a smirk on his face.

"Oh so you care now?"

"Ryder!" Someone behind them yelled, making the table turn to see who was talking. Ryder swallowed hard when he saw Blaine standing there with his arms crossed. He was sporting a fresh glare on his face made just for Ryder.

Ryder stuffed another piece of pancake into his mouth before standing up and walking over to the kid. "I'm sorry for calling you out last night. It wasn't cool and I was just really tired. I have nothing against you dude."

"What happened to Kurt?" He asked as he shoved his phone into Ryder's face. Ryder blinked a few times as he tried to read what was on Blaine's phone. It was just a text message with five words in it that had been sent to Blaine weeks ago but most importantly it had been sent _from_ Ryder.

_I'm so sorry about Kurt._

Ryder's face paled as he remembered sending that same text from the hospital bed. He had just woken up and was informed of what happened. His dad told him not to text the boy but Ryder felt like he had to so against his father's wishes he sent the text.

"How did you sent this to me? I don't even know you!"

Marley stood up and started walking slowly over to the two boys, mostly out of her own curiosity, but also because she wanted to be able to intervene if either of the two decided to attack the other.

"I… you were my neighbor, Blaine." Ryder replied softly, turning around to make sure nobody besides them were in hearing range. Most of the teenagers had gone back to their breakfast, except Marley. She was standing with a sympathetic look on her face. _She doesn't care my ass._ Ryder thought to himself before turning his attention back towards Blaine. "Blaine, Kurt is dead."

Blaine's eyes filled with tears as anger flowed through his veins. Kurt wasn't dead. There was no way in hell that was possible. Blaine had just talked to Kurt two nights ago, or did he? He wasn't sure. He couldn't remember. But as the kid in front of him stood there with a sympathetic look on his face, he seemed more inclined to believe him.

With the anger within him urging him to, Blaine stepped forward and punched Ryder in the face. This seemed to catch the attention of everyone in the cafeteria but that just fueled Blaine's anger more, so he hit Ryder again.

Marley stepped forwards and put her hand on Blaine's shoulder. "Blaine, calm down."

"Don't tell me what to do!" He screamed and pushed Marley, making her fall to the floor below her. The confidence she had once felt in the beginning of the day vanished as her mind was met with the memories of her past.

Ryder, after regaining his composure looked over at the brunette who was lying on the floor holding her wrist in pain. Suddenly he no longer felt guilty. He just felt angry.

Reaching forward, he pushed Blaine before punching him in the face like he had done to him. Blaine fell over immediately and Ryder bent down to sit on top of him. "Don't _ever_ touch her. You hear me?"

"Get off me." Blaine spat, doing his best to try to push Ryder off of him, but Ryder was stronger and quite frankly he was more pissed off than Blaine was.

"I know you're pissed off and confused and I'm _sorry_ for that but I swear to God man, if you ever touch her again, you _will_ regret it."

Jake was out of his seat and pulling Ryder off of Blaine. He had missed the beginning of the fight but he knew that Will wouldn't care who started it and it was his duty to make sure Ryder didn't get in any more trouble than he had to.

Ryder had given in easily due to the fact that it was never his intention to hurt Blaine. He looked over at Marley who was staring at him with wide eyes. "You ok?"

"Who is Kurt?" Marley asked in a whisper. Ryder shut his eyes painfully and Blaine groaned as he began to remember why he had hit Ryder in the first place.

"Kurt is my boyfriend." Blaine mumbled, sitting up and wiping his face.

Jake laughed for a couple seconds before stopping. "I'm sorry man. I just can't get used to the fact you're gay."

Marley and Ryder both looked at Jake in aggravation but Jake was oblivious to them. Instead, he grabbed a couple napkins and handed them to both Ryder and Blaine.

"And Kurt is dead?"

"No." Blaine asserted just as Ryder had said "yeah."

"Stop saying that!" Blaine yelled making Ryder roll his eyes.

Emma and Will walked into the room hand in hand ready to enjoy an excellent breakfast when they saw the two teenage boys sitting on the floor bleeding and Marley sitting next to Ryder holding her wrist in pain. Will cursed under his breath before striding over towards them.

"What happened?" Will asked, fearing the answer he'd receive. This is the second time that Ryder had gotten into a fight since Marley had been there and Will could only wonder if pairing them up was such a good thing after all.

Jake explained as much as he knew and Blaine explained how Ryder had pissed him off in the first place. Will took Blaine to his office and gave Ryder a stern glance. Marley took a deep breath before looking at the boy sitting next to her.

"Thanks for sticking up for me." She said softly. He looked over at her and gave her a small smile. "You didn't have to though."

Ryder thought for a second before allowing a small grin to cover his face. "That's what _friends_ are for."

She laughed a little and stood up, reaching out to pull him to his feet as well. "If we're friends then I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Why'd you let him hit you?" She inquired, earning a confused look from the boy in front of her. "You didn't seem to care that he was hitting you until he pushed me over. Why?"

Ryder hadn't noticed that until now. As he thought about it, he realized the truth behind her words. He hadn't fought back and he figured that he could just say he was surprised. But lying to her at this point seemed wrong, almost like the simple act would send him to hell. So instead of lying, he took a deep breath and licked his lips.

"Because it's _my_ fault Kurt is dead."

**Dun dun DUUUN. :) So I've figured out what happened between the three amigos and Ryley had some growth in this chapter. I really have nothing else to say other than thanks for reviewing and reading. You guys are awesome and I LOOOOVVVEE your theories. **

**Gleek/Guest: **Thanks so much! That means a lot!

**Popcorn0912: **haha. Don't worry. I won't make Ryder gay.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **thanks! I'm still not finished it but I'm the world's best procrastinator. :)

**Reflections of Twilight: **Nice! I'm sure I failed my calc one. I have two kittens! One of them is really fat though. Her name is little miss kitten. Lol. Don't worry. Kittens are _never_ random. Kurt IS dead. That's finally out in the open. :) Don't worry I'm the best at procrastination. Still have 4 essays to write for Wednesday. Oh boy… Well, thanks for the review! :)

**Iluvwillschuester: **There's more vulnerable Ryder in the next chapter. :) I guess we'll see if you're right on Saturday when I update this again. :) Haha, this may sound mean but you falling off your bunk bed ladder just made my day! Lol. It's so sweet that you'd fall off things for me. (I just read chapter five of Count of me. I'm about to review it now.)

**Sara/Guest: **I think you are and I think I've found you because it was your birthday last Wednesday and there just so happens to be a 'Ryder' who's birthday was on Wednesday and her name is Sara. (If you are them, then I bug you ALL the time on anon. lol.) Who doesn't want a pocket version of Sam? That's what I would wish for if I ever rubbed a lamp and a genie popped out. Second on my list would probably be Blake Jenner though. Thanks. Still have four essays to write. Stupid school. :P

**Guest 1: **Awww thanks! I love you too! I hope you did really well on your finals! They really suck. Thanks! That means so much to me and you've officially made my day. I'll try! :)

**Guest2: **I'm glad this story is like crack to you lol. That makes me happier than you'll ever know. (Just make sure that you continue reading instead of actually _doing_ crack.) There will be better Ryley moments the next couple chapters, I promise. You should tell me your theory as to what happened because I love reading them all. You're silly. A review can never get too long. ;)

**TotalGleek16: **Thanks for the review! I do have tons of work to do but obviously Ryder and Marley, as well as the rest of the Glee cast, is more important to me. I think I have my priorities straight, don't you? You'll just have to wait and see, but that question will be answered in the next chapter.

**So, I've told you about my fat cat, how I bug people on Tumblr using anon, and how you shouldn't do drugs. That's about all I have to say to you guys, other than GLEE COMES BACK IN THREE DAYS! Obviously I'm excited. Also, if you guys know any where you can watch the new episodes either while they're airing or directly afterwards for people who can't watch them right away, that'd be awesome if you told me. My friend doesn't have Fox or OnDemand so she has to wait a whole extra week for them to show up on Hulu. **

**I'm rambling so bye. **


	13. Chapter 13

Ryder glanced at the brunette who was staring at him as if he were crazy. Her lip was between her teeth and she seemed confused, but still she reached up and put a hand on his back. He shook her off, suddenly feeling like she was just pitying him.

"Talk to me, Ryder." She pleaded, frowning slightly when he shook his head. "I won't judge. You can't honestly expect _me _to judge _you_ after everything I told you."

He shut his eyes and tried to come up with a reason, any reason, to hide this from her. Of course, there was always the fact that he had been told not to tell anyone, but seeing as he was in a rehab center in the middle of nowhere and he thought he could trust her, that didn't faze him as much as it once had.

"I…" He sighed and ruffled his hand through his hair, trying to organize his thoughts. _Don't do it man._ "I just… I mean we _just_ met. You don't want to hear my sob story."

She crossed her arms and chuckled sarcastically. "You're joking right?"

"No."

Straightening up, she tried her best to come across as confident. "Aren't you the one who _just_ said we were friends? Aren't you the one who sat in a stairwell with me a couple of _days_ after we met and made me tell you what I went through?"

He let out a lame breath before shaking his head. "I didn't _make_ you tell me anything."

"We're friends." She urged, reaching over to grab his arm. "You can trust me. Scout's honor."

He laughed a little before allowing her to lead him out of the cafeteria and down a couple hallways. She stopped at a door and pushed it open, leading to a staircase. He took a deep breath and let her drag him up the stairs to another door. When she opened it, they were able to walk out onto the roof. It wasn't high up but still the view wasn't so bad. Plus, they were out in the fresh air which pleased Ryder more than he thought it ever would.

"Now _you_ weren't a scout." He replied, before walking over to edge. He sat down and swung his feet over so that they were dangling.

"If you dare jump…" She warned, walking over to join him. He laughed a little before the look on his face became distant. "You ok?"

"It was raining outside when it happened." He mumbled softly, kicking his feet against the wall and then into the air. "We were at a neighbor's party. It being New Years and all there was a lot of alcohol but my parents were there in another room so I didn't drink anything. Blaine did. And so did Kurt but Blaine walked to the party and Kurt was planning on sleeping over his house so I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"Around twelve thirty is when everyone decided that they were going to go home. I was tired so I went looking for my mom or dad. Apparently my little sister got sick so my mom left early to pick her up from the babysitter's."

"You have a little sister?" Marley asked, feeling like an idiot for interrupting the story to ask such a stupid question. Ryder didn't mind though. He was actually thankful for the interruption.

"Yeah." He smiled and looked out at the view. There was a park a couple yards down the road and he found that if you squinted you could make out the sight of little kids playing baseball. "Her name is Beth. She rides horses. Well, actually she falls off of horses but she likes to think she's riding them."

She laughed a little before licking her lips. "Go on."

"Right. Well, I found my dad and he seemed fine so we got into the car. It wasn't until he ran the first stop sign that I realized he maybe wasn't as fine as I thought. I asked him what he had to drink and he just started laughing uncontrollably. I thought it'd be a good idea to call my mom but I left my phone at the party."

Ryder stopped his story to lick his lips. His mouth was getting dryer as the story went on but he felt the need to finish it, so he continued. "He kept saying that he had seen Burt, Kurt's dad, and that he needed to drink or he'd flip shit. You see, my dad is what you would call a homophobe. I prefer the term dickhead though."

Marley smiled a little before refocusing her attention on the story. "He did switch topics eventually to how I needed to try harder in football, even though I had offers from 5 different colleges. I could _never_ do anything right in his eyes, though, and he made sure I _always_ knew there was room for improvement."

He chuckled a little before looking down at his feet. "I was so pissed at him that I stopped caring if we got into an accident. In fact, I _wanted_ to get into one and I wanted him to know that it was his fault. Hell, I would've been ok if I died. But I wasn't that lucky. I mean, we did get into an accident with another car. Burt's car."

"Was Kurt or Blaine driving?" Marley asked, thinking back to their drunken state.

Ryder shook his head. "No. Burt was. I woke up in the car and I hurt _so _bad that I couldn't even argue when my dad moved me to the driver's seat and took his place in the passenger's seat. He told me that it would be ok because I had never gotten in trouble before. I didn't believe him but there wasn't anything I could do. I passed out anyway and woke up two weeks later in the hospital."

"Were you ok?" She asked, looking over at him. His face was red but he didn't seem to be crying just yet so she refrained from patting him in the back in a comforting manner. "I mean, like physically?"

"I had a pretty bad concussion and a broken arm but nothing too serious. Blaine had a couple of scratches and Burt broke his leg but Kurt died." He sniffled a little before shaking his head, annoyed with himself for cracking. "Unfortunately, my dad wasn't hurt that much either."

"Don't say that." She whispered with a frown on her face. Even though her brain was screaming at her to, she didn't reach over. That could wait. She wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"You don't understand, Marley." Ryder mumbled in frustration as he turned to face her. His eyes were watering and her heart broke. "My dad is a jerk. The first thing he said to me after I found out Kurt was dead was 'at least we have one less fag in the world to worry about'. He didn't even care!"

He shook his head and turned back towards the view of the baseball field. "He said that if I didn't tell anyone what really happened nothing bad would happen. So I kept my mouth shut. I lost _every_ single scholarship. My grades dropped because my concussion made it hard to focus, which is ok. I deserve all that after what I did."

"Ryder, you didn't _do_ anything."

"Exactly." He muttered in response. "I could have done so much more to prevent it. If I wasn't so stupid, I wouldn't have left my phone at the house. If I wasn't such an idiot, I wouldn't have let him drive. And if I wasn't such a baby, then I would've fought harder to get him to pull over. It's my fault, Marley." His voice broke at the end.

Without thinking about it, which was probably a good thing, she pulled the boy into a hug. He rested his head on her shoulder and instantly broke down, something she was surprisingly ok with. At least it was her he was confiding in. Why she was proud of herself, she wasn't sure, but as they sat there for what only felt like minutes but was actually an hour, she couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness.

He did smell good.

He pulled away and wiped his eyes, his face red from embarrassment rather than from the crying. "Sorry." He mumbled, swinging his legs back around so he could stand up again on the roof.

"Don't be." She smiled, standing up too. "That's what friends are for."

He chuckled a little before leading the way back towards the door. "If you tell anyone about this I'll…"

"I know, I know." She interrupted him with a grin. "You'll kill me." He smiled and started walking down the stairs. Just as his hand reached for the door, she stopped him. "Ryder, wait."

"Yeah?" He was a little confused because he had already told her everything. Well not _everything_ but the rest didn't really matter. What did she want now?

"Can… Can I try something?" She asked, biting her lip in anticipation of his answer.

He scrunched his eyebrows, again confused, before nodding his head. "Go for it."

She stepped closer to him and reached up to run her hand through his hair, something she'd been wanting to do for a while now. He shut his eyes as the comforting feeling it gave him ran through him. With his eyes shut and nothing to lose, Marley leaned forward and connected their lips. Honestly, even though he realized he should have _known _where that was going, he thought that she just wanted to touch his hair. The surprise soon vanished though as he began to kiss her back.

She pulled back and bit her lip to hide her smile. That was the first time she had kissed anyone, besides little kids but that wasn't the same. She wasn't a pervert.

"What was that for?" Ryder asked with a shaky voice. To say he was completely drawn to the brunette in front of him would be an understatement at this point.

She thought of all the things she could say that would be the truth, like how she had been wanting to kiss him since the hospital. Or how his story made her feel so upset for him and she felt like she owed him something else. Possibly, she could tell him that she just felt like being her age she should have already had her first kiss.

Instead, she just smiled and opened the door. "We're _both_ getting out of here. _Together."_

As soon as they exited the stairwell and were in the hallway, Jake walked up to them. "Dude, were you crying?"

Ryder wiped his eyes quickly while shaking his head. "No. I'm allergic to the dust in that stairwell."

Was it believable? No. But Jake didn't want to spend too much time dwelling on that. "Mr. Schu has big news for us. He wants us all to meet in the lounge."

Ryder sighed. Surely Will had thought of a project in which Ryder and Blaine would be partners so that they'd start getting along. But Ryder didn't want to work with Blaine and he knew the feeling was mutual for the other party involved. So Ryder's footsteps were slow and small all the way across the building to the lounge. Even Marley was starting to get annoyed with him but he didn't care. The longer he took the less time he'd have to work with Blaine.

Sadly, they did end up in the lounge and sitting on the sofa in the front of the room. Marley was in the middle of Jake and Ryder, which honestly didn't seem to bug Ryder as much as he thought it would. Jake _was_ terrified of Marley after all.

"Alright guys." Will started, smiling slightly at the teens in the sofa. "So it's been brought to my attention that some of you guys have been fighting a lot."

_Here it comes…_ Ryder thought to himself, rolling his eyes as Will looked directly at him.

"You guys have been locked in this building for a while now and you lack the people who you would _normally_ confide in." Will recited, looking down at a clipboard in his hands for a couple brief seconds. In this short amount of time, Marley looked over at Ryder and smiled small to herself. He looked bored and annoyed. She found it amusing. "Some of you used to confide in the same people."

Ryder shut his eyes for a brief second before opening them and glancing at Blaine. He was sitting in the chair next to the couch Ryder, Jake and Marley were sitting in. Ryder quickly looked back towards Will though when Blaine had noticed his gaze.

"I'm from California." Kitty pointed out tiredly. "Obviously I never knew these people."

"But you do know your parents. Am I right?" Will tested with a small smile on his face. The blonde shut her mouth and let Mr. Schu continue with whatever it was he was getting at. She honestly wasn't sure, nor did she care. "I've invited your families down for the weekend."

"Seriously?" Marley asked, biting her lip and looking down at her feet. Ryder looked over at her sensing her nerves before looking back at Mr. Schu.

Ryder licked his lips and nodded his head. "I don't think that's such a great idea." Whether it was for Marley or himself, he wasn't sure, but either way the idea was bound to end badly.

"My parents can't afford to come." Sam mumbled sadly.

"I've only invited the family I know you'd be comfortable with having here." Will mentioned in response to Marley and Ryder's worry before turning towards Sam. "We're paying for your parents' flight."

Sam sat upright in his seat and nudged Ryder happily. "You hear that Ryder? I'm gonna see my parents!"

Although he hated the idea, he smiled at the blonde and nodded his head. "That's cool dude."

"So far Marley's, Ryder's, Sam's, and Kitty's family members have responded and we're waiting for the rest." Will informed them. "But we're expecting plans to be arranged for everyone else in a couple days."

Ryder's head shot up. Who'd have thought his family cared enough to come up here? They had reputations to uphold after all which is why they told everyone Ryder got an opportunity of a lifetime to go to Africa and research different cultures. They told people he was taking time off to study medicine in one of the most prestigious institutions in the nation. Ryder couldn't remember the name of it and he didn't understand why they couldn't come up with a more believable lie.

Sure, he wasn't the dumbest kid in his school but he sure as hell wasn't the smartest. And after the accident with his concussion he had the hardest time remembering what he was reading and his grades dropped even farther. Again, not that it mattered because no college would accept him after what they thought he did.

Marley bit her lip. Was her mother coming? Would she bring that dickhead with her? The thought made her shiver as the memory of his hands upon her flashed through her mind. Shaking her head, she decided it may be best to focus on someone else. She looked over at Kitty who seemed incredibly bored with this entire meeting.

"Who is coming so far?" Sam asked, excitement evident in his voice. The 6 other teenagers in the room looked up at him before turning towards Mr. Schuester.

"Well, there are your parents, Marley's aunt, Ryder's mom and sister, and Kitty's father." Will recited, double checking the list in front of him. "You guys can go. I'll talk to each of you individually tomorrow."

Marley smiled, as did Ryder. They both stood up at the same time and the group watched them walk away together. It seemed normal. The two had become friends but something was different now and even Jake, who was blind to those types of things, noticed. They were walking closer together; bumping into each other every other step.

"Great…" Kitty groaned, throwing her head back in annoyance. "Now we have to deal with those two."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. "Haven't we always had to deal with them?"

"Before, they were just Ryder and Marley." Kitty began, standing up to walk towards the door the two others had just exited from. "Now they're…" She thought for a seconds before rolling her eyes at her own thoughts. "Now they're _Ryley."_

"I think they're cute." Tina muttered, the first words most of them had ever heard her speak.

Sam turned towards her, surprised that she had spoken. "I didn't know you could talk! I thought you were a retard."

"Sam!" Will scolded, stepping forward to put a comforting hand on Tina's shoulder. Truth be told though, Will hadn't heard her talk either and he was paid to listen to her. He thought something else was wrong with her other than the condition in her folder. "Don't say retarded."

"They're together now?" Jake asked, scrunching his eyebrows. "When did that happen?"

"I didn't say they were _together." _Kitty answered, her arms crossed. "But there _is_ something going on."

"They did walk out of a stairwell together earlier." Jake noted, stringing together the pieces of information he had until they began to make sense. "And they hang out _a lot." _

"Not to mention he practically attacked me because I pushed _her."_ Blaine muttered, anger laced in his words.

Jake scoffed and shook his head. "Dude, shut up. You were the one who attacked him first."

Will hung his head, thinking of the endless possibilities of a romance in this place. He had seen it happen before and it didn't end well at all. Things just got _a lot_ more complicated.

**So I just started reading 'Perks of Being a Wallflower' and I love it so you guys should read it too. :) Oooo and I also just bought 'Struck by Lightning' by Chris and started reading it in the cheesecake factory and I'm in love with it too. Anyway, thanks for reading. Please review and I love you all. Oh and after watching the video of the new cast singing that song that I'm too stupid to remember the name of, I kinda ship Jarley **_**a lot.**_** And I love Blake's hair with a burning passion. It's always so shiny and it always looks so soft… **

**Thanks to…: **

**Lisa Limn Jack/Guest: **Thanks! I agree, obviously considering I just wrote that they kissed BUT I think they should kiss a lot more. :) Thanks for the review!

**Popcorn0912: **I generally update on Saturdays, except when I update during the week, but I can't this week, so the next one will be updated next Saturday. Thought I'd Iet you know so you wouldn't be checking every day. :) Thanks for liking this story.

**Iluvwillschuester: **STOP FALLING OFF OF THINGS! I feel so bad yet at the same time I'm incredibly amused. Forget what I said in PMs. YOU should work on your balance. Lol. :) You were right about Kurt but then you ruined it by being wrong about the car accident. Lol. Don't worry. I still love you. I might have found you a site but I'm not sure. You can never write too much. Trust me. (Don't read past here if you haven't seen the Glee episode yet, which I'm assuming you didn't. I don't even know if people read the responses to other people's comments but I figured I'd warn you specifically just in case.)

**Sara/Guest: **Hola amigo! Or I guess Bonjour, whichever you prefer. I don't have a tumblr so I can't come off anon. :) I don't think I'll ever be able to stop procrastinating. :P If I had a genie I think my three wishes would be… 1. I want a Sam. 2. I want Blake Jenner to fall madly in love with me. 3. I want life to be like either a Disney movie or High School musical so that I could just sing and dance my way out of problems. :P Thanks for always commenting and making my day. :)

**Serendipulous: **YOU WERE RIGHT! … and it bother me because I just wanted to punch you in the face. :P Oh my gosh… I truly am a terrible person, aren't I? (Every time you send me a PM or comment and I read your username I smile like an idiot because it's honestly the best name EVER!)

**DrewLucyJaria: **Thanks so much! I'd say it progressed but I'm not sure. :) Thanks for commenting.

**Gleek/Guest: **Thanks so much for your lovely comment. It made me smile. And thanks for the suggestion. I'm trying to find some but I can't.

**TotalGleek16: **hahahahaa. I know! I love writing cliff hangers but absolutely can't stand reading them. Your comment made my life because I feel the same exact way! :D Thanks for the comment!

**Iheartart13: **I really love your username. I don't know if I said that before but I do. Your comment made me blush. I can't believe people care enough about this story to never want it to end. That's crazy. You're making MY life. :) Thanks so much for the sweet comment. You're amazing.

**Gillian Deverone: **Sorry for making you wait so long. :) Thanks for the comment and thanks so much for the suggestion. I'm not sure if she does but I'll ask.

**Guest 1: **Props to you for being drug free! We can be drugless buddies together! :)Your theories absolutely do _not_ suck! You were actually really close! I like the episode on Thursday, I think. I mean, Ryder didn't talk but he sang and I really, really liked the Jarley moments. I kinda hate Rachel now though because she kept leaving Kurt all lonely. I literally LOVE harassing people on Tumblr on anon. It makes my day. Well, I don't harass but I annoy. :) I love your long comments! :)

**Alli-Loves-Glee: **Thanks so much :) It means a lot to me that you 'lost it' and I feel terrible because of it lol. I love those two too and I'm so mad because now I kinda like Jarley. Silly Ryan Murphy… :P Thanks for commenting and making my life every time.

**Reflections of Twilight: **You can totally take one of mine. The boy is such a brat and never stops crying. You're welcome to take it. In fact, I'd totally love you if you did. :P Lol. Your comments always make me laugh. I love Pitch Perfect! That movie is hysterical. Thanks for always commenting and thanks for always making my day with your comments.

**Thanks to everyone who reads, not just reviews. You guys are amazing and I love each and every one of you. Next update on Saturday! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Marley walked down the hall slowly, holding boxes of food from the kitchen. She had been put in charge of making sure there were plenty of snacks for the visitors. Jake was supposed to be helping her but he had decided it'd be better to help Ryder out instead. After all, food was a girl's job. Ryder and Kitty had finished their job of setting up the bedrooms so Marley was sure Jake had only ditched her to play video games.

"Hey Marley, right?" A girl came up and asked her. Turning, she saw Tina standing there with a smile on her face, which Marley returned easily. "Do you need any help?"

Marley looked down at the boxes in her arms and nodded her head. "Yeah. Thanks."

Tina reached over and took the top box as Marley sighed in relief. The two walked in silence which is how they both liked it. Marley didn't know Tina and it was more comfortable to just let silence take over, but Tina didn't even like to talk in general.

As the two entered the lounge, they were confronted with Jake, Ryder, and Sam all screaming their heads off at the TV. Marley rolled her eyes and walked towards a table, where Emma was setting up what she could.

"Thank you, guys." Emma replied as the two dropped the boxes of snacks at her feet. She looked around while placing her hands on her hips in thought. "I think that's everything. Your family should be here in about an hour so you should _all_ get ready." She looked over towards the boys and gave them a pointed look just as Jake was throwing the controller at the wall.

"Spaz." Sam muttered as he pressed furiously at the buttons.

"What the hell?!" They all screamed as Will unplugged their game.

"You heard Emma. Go and get ready." Will motioned towards the door as all three boys sighed. "Blaine is the only one ready. Now _go_."

Jake scoffed as he turned to see Blaine walking into the room with his hair gelled back. "But Blaine is _gay_."

Ryder sighed and shook his head before standing up and walking towards where Emma was pouring chips into a bowl. He reached forward to grab one only to have his hand slapped. "Ow."

"Get ready." She muttered as he rubbed the back of his hand. "These are for the guests."

"I'm technically a guest too, you know." He muttered before walking out of the room and down the hall. After getting a shower and changing into some jeans and his McKinley football sweatshirt, he started walking back down the hall to the lounge where he would wait anxiously for the arrival of his sister.

"Looking spiffy." Marley noted with a smile on her face. Ryder turned to her and smiled before looking down at himself. "You look good."

Even though Ryder knew she was making fun of him for wearing a sweatshirt, he replied with a "So do you."

And she did. She was wearing a light pink sun dress that stopped right above her knees with a light blue jean jacket vest over top of it. Her hair was softly curled and one her feet were a pair of white ballet flats.

She scrunched her nose and looked down at herself. "It was the only thing in my suitcase that wasn't completely horrendous." Truthfully, after seeing Kitty waltz out of the room looking absolutely glamorous, she didn't think her outfit was very special. To Ryder, though, she looked absolutely beautiful.

Ryder was about to mention the fact that she looked stunning but Sam came pounding down the hallway with a giant smile on his face. "My parents just got here! Come on guys! You have to meet them!"

Ryder sighed but allowed the boy to drag him all the way down the hallway into the lounge, where a couple visitors were already sitting down with a plate of food. Marley giggled at her friend's excitement as he practically threw them into his parent's bodies.

"Hi." Marley let out, stopping a little to catch her breath. Sam's parents smiled at the seeming 'normal' teenagers standing before them. "How are you?"

"Mom, this is Marley. She tried to kill her step dad." Sam introduced a giant smile on his face. Marley's face paled as the woman looked her up and down in both disgust and fear. Ryder chuckled a little while looking down at his feet. "And this is Ryder. He beats people up for a living."

"Well," The woman spoke, straightening up and looking down upon the three teenagers. "what a _lovely_ group of kids…"

She started walking away and Sam ran after her. "I know! They're awesome!"

"That was awful." Marley mumbled, turning to give Ryder but he was already smiling at her. "What?"

"You worry too much about what people think of you." He answered after thinking about his words carefully.

"He told her I was a murderer!" She screeched, her face turning red in both anger and embarrassment. "And it's all _your _fault."

Ryder sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "We're not bringing that up again." He mumbled, looking down at his feet guiltily. "Besides, Sam is a _liar._ Who's to say he was telling the truth?"

"You can't always use that as an excuse." She muttered, crossing her arms. Looking behind him, she saw a little girl with blonde hair running towards them. "Uh… I think someone is here to see you."

Ryder turned around just in time for Beth to run into his legs and grab a hold of them. "Woah…"

"Beth…" A woman's stern voice came from behind them. All three of them turned to see the woman strutting over to them. Marley noticed her clothes first, which is exactly what the lady was going for. They were _expensive. _"Oh Ryder…" She breathed out, pulling the boy into a tight hug. Marley smiled at the two before looking down at Beth who was staring up at her with a smile on her face.

"You must be Beth.." Marley said, bending down with a smile on her face too. The woman and Ryder turned to watch as the blonde gave Marley a hug that she wasn't expecting.

"Are you my brother's boyfriend?" She asked, making Ryder cough awkwardly and turn back towards his mother.

"So… I'll get you guys some food then." He mumbled, grabbing Marley's arm and leading her towards the table. "Sorry about that."

Marley giggled and pulled some of her hair behind her ear. She didn't mind the question as much as she minded his response. What she couldn't comprehend was why the aspect of them dating had bothered him as much as it did. "No, it's fine."

"Listen, when this whole thing is done I…" He started but he was interrupted by a gruff voice coming from behind him.

"Ryder?!" The man asked and Ryder's face paled as his brain realized who the voice belonged to. Turning around, he saw none other than Burt Hummel standing there with his arms crossed and an angry look on his face.

Will walked into the room and immediately noticed the tension that had been created. He mentally cursed himself out because he knew allowing Burt to attend would only be trouble. Emma bit her lip but stayed where she was. She knew she _should_ do something to help, but what was there for her to do?

Marley looked between the two, confused as to how they knew each other. Jake stood up from the couch where he was talking to his parents in order to protect the boy who had become his best friend. Ryder gulped and looked down at his shoes not really knowing what else he could possibly do.

"You have nothing to say?" Burt pressed, stepping forward slightly. As he moved his feet forward, Ryder moved his back, wanting to keep space between them. "You kill my son and have _nothing_ to say for it?"

Sam's mom turned towards her son. "I thought you said the girl was the one who killed people?"

Blaine raised his head, confused as to what Burt was talking about. They didn't know Ryder, and Kurt was still alive. His head was spinning and he couldn't get a hold of it.

"I- I didn't…" Ryder started but cut himself off. Letting Marley know the truth was one thing, but once Burt knew he would tell everyone. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?!" Burt screamed, stepping forward again but Ryder could no longer step back. His back was against the wall. "My son _died_ because _you_ were too dumb to realize you couldn't have alcohol and drive too."

Ryder bit his lip. Was that the story now? Was his dad telling people that he had been drinking? Blaine stood up and started walking towards them, more confused than anything else. That was until a force of memories flew through his mind. The party. The accident. The fight. The funeral. Ryder.

He became lightheaded, which went unnoticed by everyone except Ryder, his old best friend. "Blaine…" Ryder breathed out, trying to get someone else to notice him but it was too late, Blaine was crashing to the floor like Ryder had a week ago.

"Where do you think you're going?" Burt asked, pulling Ryder back when he tried to help Blaine. Ryder opened his mouth to answer but Burt interrupted him with a punch to the face.

Then everything went black.

**This is really short but I figured I put enough drama in it for one chapter. Plus, I really like ending things with 'then everything went black'. It makes me happy. Lol. Since this is so short, though, I'll post the next chapter on Wednesday. **

**Thanks to: **

**Bri Deen/Guest: **Well thanks for commenting now and thanks even more for reading. I love Ryley together too. :)

**Sara/Guest: **Well… I stopped reading it. I got bored. :P Why does everyone tell me to read John Green? I just don't get it. I do have a tumblr now. My friend used my email and made one so I stole it. lol. :) It's ohsoblake. Obviously, I'm obsessed with Blake Jenner. :) hahaha. I loved your review. It made me laugh so much. :)

**GleekOut/Guest: **Thanks so much! I try to update as much as I can but I'm in two AP classes this semester and the homework sucks ass. :P I'm updating twice this week though. :)

**DrewLucyJaria: **thanks again! :) Your icon is adorable by the way.

**Iluvwillschuester: **You shouldn't know how that feels bud! YOU DO EVERYTHING RIGHT AND PERFECT! :D You is kind. You is smart. You is important. Best movie ever. Well, then you should work on your balance again. :) Because it seems to suck. Lol.

**Guest 1: **Ahhh long comment. LOVE IT! :D There will be plenty of Ryley moments to come. I promise with all my heart. :) Idk… I kinda love Jarley now. But I wish Ryder was with Marley. Agh. I'm so conflicted lol. Anyway, I enjoyed the whole naked aspect of the episode. Made my entire life. Oh gosh… I wish people in my school looked like that. I'd actually enjoy going to school. Thanks for the long comment. It honestly makes my day. You have no idea.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **I'm not sure if I told you this or not but your username is adorable. Thanks for reviewing and reading.

**Serendipulous: **I just want to punch you! Ugh. It bothers me that I haven't been. Makes me feel like a jerk but oh well. lol.

**Reflections of Twilight: **Kitty.

OH MY GOD! I'M SO FUNNY I JUST CAN'T WITH MYSELF!

**Reflections of Twilight: **Haha. That he is. :) Thanks for always commenting. & OH MY GOSH! I thought so too! They totally reminded me of Ryley. I thought I was crazy for thinking so. :)

**Iheartart13: **hahaha. I did know that but it's ok them kissing made my life as well. :) Haha. I know. I love his little sister right now. You're welcome. It truly is an amazing username. :) haha thanks!

**& that would be that. Thanks so much to all my readers, even if you don't always comment. And that's so much to everyone who comments. :) Next update on Wednesday! :D Have a nice rest of the weekend and try not to let school kill you too much. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Kurt is dead. But Blaine doesn't think he is so when I say something like 'Kurt isn't dead', it's most likely because that's what Blaine is thinking. :)**

"_Blaine, stop." He heard the boy call but he chose to ignore him as his tears blocked his vision. "Seriously Blaine. It's not worth it." _

"_Shut the _fuck _up Ryder." Blaine spat, turning around only to give Ryder a glare. "You good for nothing piece of _shit."_ By this time, a couple other neighbors had crowded around and were giving the boy angry stares. _

_Ryder stepped forward and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Come on man. He isn't doing anything to you." _

_Blaine turned his back on Ryder and gave his neighbor a sickening stare, one that would make even Ryder cringe if it were directed at him. "This _retard _shouldn't exist." _

_The boy who both Ryder and Blaine had babysat for started to cry. "Blaine, you're better than this. You just… you need to chill out." _

_Blaine, again, chose to ignore Ryder as he reached forward to push the boy to the ground. "You're worthless. You'll _never_ be good at anything because you're a fucking pussy. _You_ should be dead." Ryder sighed as Blaine sat on top of the boy's stomach and clenched his fist. _

_People were standing there watching in fear as Blaine lost it. Ryder knew they'd judge him. He'd go to jail for maybe the night for assault. His life would be ruined. Colleges would look the other way when he chose to apply. He'd be forced to work at McDonalds for the rest of his life. In short, his life was looking a lot like Ryder's. _

"_Blaine, _stop." _Ryder mumbled, stepping forward to pull Blaine off of the boy. As soon as he did, the boy went running, screaming at the top of his lungs down the street. "You're only hurting yourself." _

"_He's a fucking retard!" Blaine screamed, annoyed with the fact that his best friend wasn't understanding him. "He should be six feet under." _

_Ryder clenched his fist and punched him in the face, hoping that the pain would put him in the right mind. When it didn't, he punched him again and then again. He hated the fact that it brought him a little bit of joy. He could pretend Blaine was his father and all of a sudden his stress was gone. _

_But someone called the cops and they were already there, pulling Ryder off of Blaine. It was then Ryder realized that Blaine wasn't his dad. He was just Blaine, the boy who had just lost the love of his life. _

Blaine opened his eyes in a panic, sitting up from his spot on the floor. It felt like hours but he had only been out of a couple minutes. He was still in the lounge and people were leaning over him, arguing about what to do with him. Should they bring him to the nurse? Leave him here? They were too busy arguing to notice he was even awake in the first place.

Burt was glaring at Ryder, who had a bloody nose and was holding his head in pain. Marley was staring at Ryder too, but her expression was different than Burt's. Hers was more out of concern for the boy.

"Hi Blaine." A little girl exclaimed as she sat down by his head. It took him a couple seconds but he recognized her immediately as Beth. "Are you ok?"

Blaine groaned, while sitting up. Ignoring her question, he turned to glare at Ryder, anger accompanying the memories that swam through Blaine's head. "You son of a bitch."

"You remember me?" Ryder asked, smiling a little even though it probably wasn't in his best interests for Blaine to remember him.

Blaine clenched his fist and punched Ryder in the face, sending the boy into another spell of darkness. This time, though, Marley caught his head so it didn't smack against the floor. She brushed his hair back lightly, as she turned to glare at Blaine.

"Can we all just stop hitting him?" She spat, watching as Jake growled in Blaine's direction. "He didn't even _do_ anything."

"He killed my son!" Burt screamed at the same time Blaine exclaimed, "He killed my boyfriend!"

"My brother is not a killer!" Beth protested, her eyes tearing up as the negative words filled her young mind.

"Yeah he is." Blaine muttered distastefully, standing up and dusting his pants off.

Jake growled once more but was pulled back by Will who was trying desperately to control the situation. Emma, too, was trying to herd the rest of the group to the cafeteria so they wouldn't have to witness this scene. One of these people was Marley's aunt, who had just arrived unnoticed by Marley who was too preoccupied in making sure Ryder was alright.

"Burt, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Will muttered, putting his hand on the man's back.

Marley looked up from her activities of playing with Ryder's hair to see the situation unfold. Burt stood up and shook his head. "I'm not leaving this boy here with that monster."

"Burt, just think rationally about this." Mrs. Lynn began to say but she was cut off by Burt's angry words.

"I am thinking rationally about this! Your son killed mine and I'm not letting him do the same thing to Blaine." Burt screamed and Marley fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Burt, this is one of the best institutions in the country." She continued, ignoring his outburst. "You can't deny Blaine the opportunity to get better."

"You're right." Burt nodded, a cynical smile crossing his features. "Your son shouldn't even be here. He should be in jail and I'll make sure that's where he ends up."

"You can't do that!" Marley screamed, making Ryder stir slightly. "He deserves the opportunity to get better as well! It wasn't just Kurt or Blaine who got hurt in that accident! Ryder was there too!"

"Mary, that's your name right?" Burt questioned, ignoring as she shook his head and opened her mouth to tell him her real name. "You weren't there. You don't know what happened so please keep your mouth shut and let the grownups solve this problem."

"You aren't solving it like adults, though." Marley rebutted, continuing to run her fingers through Ryder's hair. "If you'd stop _acting_ like children then maybe you'd realize that Ryder is hurting just as much as you are."

Burt pursed his lips and was about to argue with her when Will put his hand on his back again. "Burt, it's time for you to go. I'll show you the way out."

As they left the room and probably the building, Marley looked back down at the boy whose head was in her lap. He looked like he was just sleeping but the blood on his face indicated otherwise. Sighing, she looked back up at Jake who was standing there with a frown on his face. "Help me?"

"Yeah." He said softly, bending over to help carry Ryder to the couch. Beth was right behind them and Mrs. Lynn was chasing down Burt and Will to try to convince them to allow Ryder to stay here and to apologize once again on Ryder's behalf.

"Is he going to die?" Beth sniffled, kneeling down by her brother's head. Marley gave her a small smile while shaking her head.

"No sweetie." She answered, bending down to kneel next to the boy as well. "He won't die."

"Did… did he really kill someone named Kurt?" Jake asked, sitting down in one of the empty chairs.

Beth sighed and pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "That's what daddy says."

Marley narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. She was just about to scream about how that wasn't true in the slightest, but someone beat her to the chase.

"It was an accident." Ryder muttered, putting his hand on his head to try to stop it from throbbing.

The more Ryder thought about it, the less he seemed to care that his dad would get in trouble. After all, it didn't appear that his dad cared if Ryder got in trouble, so why should he care if the opposite happened? Blaine stood up and walked over to them.

But before Ryder could argue, Will walked back into the room.

"You alright?" He asked, standing over him and holding out a wet cloth for him to grab. "If you want, I can grab you an aspirin."

Ryder sighed and shook his head. "A headache is the least I deserve."

"Dude, what the fuck was that?" Jake asked, only to be pinched by two tiny fingers. "Ouch! What the fuck?" He looked down and saw a little girl just as she was about to pinch him again. "Stop that!"

"You cussed." She smiled, swaying back and forth as she stared up at him. "I'm Beth."

"Why was he even allowed to come here?" Marley asked, biting her tongue when she realized she had spoken out loud. She meant to keep it to herself and ask later, when Beth wasn't around and Ryder didn't have a headache.

Will sighed and put a hand to his forehead, "Blaine's parents couldn't make it."

Ryder shook his head while sitting up. "That doesn't sound right. They once cancelled an entire vacation because he _hiccupped_. They'd make time to see him no matter what."

"They didn't want to see…"

"Me." Ryder finished for him, running and hand through his already messy hair. Although he had meant the simple action to relieve him, he rubbed one of the many bruises on his head and cringed. Marley stood up instinctively and put her hand to his forehead to try to relieve the pain he was feeling.

"I tried to talk to Burt but he drove off in a rage." Mrs. Lynn, who had instructed Will to call her Ellen, walked into the room with a worried expression on her face. "He says he's going to court."

Will shook his head. "Don't worry about that. Ryder is fine here and I honestly think Blaine is better off being confronted by his past."

Blaine, who was still sitting on the floor scoffed. "That's what you think."

"You were dealing with situational schizophrenia before you got here." Will pointed out, slightly annoyed with the boy doubting his logic. "If it hadn't been for Ryder, you would still be under the impression Kurt was still alive."

"If it weren't for Ryder, Kurt _would_ still be alive." The boy spat back, taking the time to stand to his feet. Ellen sighed as Beth's lip started to tremble.

Will opened his mouth to protest but Ryder interrupted him. "He's right."

"No he's not!" Marley yelped, feeling a sudden urge to defend him. "He's just being a jerk!"

"We can't both stay here." He muttered, ignoring the brunette's protests. "And Blaine deserves the opportunity to get better."

"So do you." Marley pointed out, crossing her arms as her eyes started to blur. "Don't even try to say you don't."

"Dude, just wait it out." Jake spoke up, looking over at Blaine who was starting to look at the scene from a new perspective, worried about his friend rather than angry at him. Truth be told, Blaine still cared about Ryder but what happened to Kurt was unforgiveable.

"I can't!" Ryder screamed, standing up and walking towards the door. "If I do that, there'll just be a pointless lawsuit."

"But sweetie, you're getting better here." Ellen insisted, reaching out to touch her son's arm but he jerked away.

"I'll pack now." He muttered, opening the door to the hallway. "You can just transfer me."

Ellen opened her mouth but by the time she thought of what to say, the door was slamming behind him. Will sighed as did Jake. Even Blaine was feeling a little guilty about what had just happened. But the person it hurt most of all was standing there with tears streaming down her face.

She couldn't lose him. Not now.

**Drama…. You guys love me, don't you? Alright, so call me a nerd all you want but today I realized there are 121 comments on this story and while that's a super big amount of you guys being completely awesome, what really excited me was the fact it was a perfect square. Anyway… Thanks so much for the constant support. It honestly means so much to me when y'all comment, favorite, and follow this story. **

**With that said, special thanks to:**

**Serendipulous: **Well, the way I see it is when I'm not punching you, I'm not punching anyone. So then in a last effort to get my urges to punch people out of my system, I have to make someone punch Ryder. It's just the way things work. And yes… I have a punching fetish. Shhhhh don't tell.

**gleeSS: **I had to type your name in like 17 times because stupid Microsoft word had to keep correcting it. :P Thanks so much! Reading this is one day takes a lot of dedication so thank you for that and thank you for commenting! :D

**Popcorn0912: **I honestly meant to PM you this, but I suppose this chapter is a little longer than the last one but I'm not sure. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner.

**Guest 1: **Oh. My. Goodness. That's the longest comment yet! It wouldn't even let me read it all in the email. Haha. That's so crazy! You should totally message me more often… or make a tumblr so I know I'm talking to you… unless you've talked to me using your tumblr account. Well, now I've confused myself. I agree completely. I don't want them to get together by cheating on Jake. Besides, they did that with Quinn, Finn, and Puck already. I ALMOST DIED WATCHING NAKED! They are all so hot. Burt's here because… well I think I explained that in this part. Nah. Mr. Lynn has more important things to be doing in his life than visiting his son in rehab. That's not his style. Thanks for the crazy long comment! :D

**xxEllieJellyxx: **I agree. I feel bad for Ryder but at least he has Marley. ;) Thanks for commenting!

**Reflections of Twilight: **I once dissected a worm in this museum and threw up all over the table and everyone else's worms. Never cut open anything else ever again. How would one go about using a banana as a weapon anyway? I totally like your idea of Ryder dying. Maybe I'll work that in somewhere.

**Iheartart13: **Did school kill you? It's about to kill me. Physics is the worst. I swear, physicists just create random formulas to confuse us. It's sick, really. I LOVE BURT TOO! He's like my best friend because he supports Klaine and I LOVE them. Haha. There's a smile on MY face whenever I see you commented. :)

**Sara/Guest: **YOOO! So I was on Tumblr and I saw all these gray people harassing you and I got really mad lol. I stuck up for you. Don't you worry. :P Anyways, yeah… I don't get why everyone likes John Green. Doesn't make much sense to me. My dad is from England. I think his family lives around Liverpool? Or at least somewhat close to that. I think. Haha I love Sam. I think he's my favorite. :)

**DrewLucyJaria: **They're just so adorable. I can't with them. :) I update every Saturday, and in some cases on Wednesdays. Haha. Thanks for commenting! :D

**Iluvwillschuester: **Nope, Kurt is dead. Blaine is just confused. :P I LOVE SAM! Haha. Yeah, I don't really like Burt all that much. Oh my gosh, don't say that! I'm far from the best Ryley writer and totally not even in the realm of the best writers on this site. You're silly. (Besides, you're the best)

**Thanks to everyone again. It makes my entire life when y'all comment. So I'm going to go and watch the teen tournament on Jeopardy. It's the only time I actually understand the questions. Lol. So while I make myself feel smarter, you guys should start reading 11/22/63. It's super long and by Stephen King but it's super good so far. (Well, I've read the first 3 pages, but as of yet it's really good). :P **

**SORRY FOR ANY TYPOS!**


	16. Chapter 16

Ryder walked into his bedroom and looked around for the suitcase he had brought when he first came here. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure he left it in Mr. Schu's office, though he couldn't remember why.

He turned around to walk out of the room and down the hall but he was stopped by a certain brunette. "Ryder, wait."

"For what?" He asked tiredly, try to walk past her. She grabbed the door handle and walked into the room, slamming the door behind her so he couldn't leave. "Marley, I'm serious."

"I know you are." She answered, shaking her head. "But that's just because you aren't thinking clearly."

"I'm not an idiot, Marley." He insisted, trying once more to push past her. Once again, she didn't allow it. "Let me through."

"I'm not saying you're an idiot." She mumbled, biting her lip slightly as he stepped closer to try to push past her. "You're letting your guilt make your decisions for you. That's not healthy."

"Don't tell _me_ what's healthy." He grumbled, growling when Marley once again failed to move. "It's not that I want to leave, Marley. I _have_ to."

"No you don't!"

Running a frustrated hand through his hair, which brought more pain than relief, he sighed. "You don't get it Marley! Every time I see Blaine, I think about the accident and how I screwed up everything. I'm not doing this just because Burt is a jackass. I _need_ to do this."

"That's not true." Marley shook her head, crossing her arms in a challenging way. "If that were true, you wouldn't have stayed this long. It's literally been weeks since Blaine got here. If you really couldn't handle it, you would've left before."

"But I didn't." He answered, scrunching his eyebrows at his own response.

Marley nodded her head before asking, "Why not? Because it didn't bother you before Burt came here."

"Don't tell me it didn't bother me!" Ryder yelled, suddenly annoyed with the brunette who appeared to think she knew everything when clearly she had absolutely no idea. "I fucked up that kid's life! You think it didn't bother me when he got here!?"

"Not enough to want you to leave." She noted, nodding her head at her own discoveries.

Licking his lips, he realized he was beginning to see red. She was really starting to piss him off with her lack of trust in what he was trying to say. Finally, after what seemed like hours but was really no longer than 10 seconds, he screamed, "I stayed for you!"

Gasping slightly, caught off guard by his honesty, she bit her lip and looked down. Nobody had ever cared enough to stay anywhere for her. Even her aunt, whom she trusted with everything, had sent her here to get help instead of helping her herself. "What? Why?"

"I don't know." He grumbled, shrugging his shoulders as his face turned red. "I just… you're really awesome Marley."

Biting her lip for a brief second before smiling a little, she answered, "Then stay for me now."

"But Marley…" He began, upset with the circumstances even more than he was before, which seemed almost impossible.

"No." She answered, putting her finger over his lips. "Don't say you have to go. Don't even think about it. Just… stay." She whispered, wrapping her arms around him and putting her head on his chest. "Just stay."

"But Marley… there's going to be a lawsuit." He answered after a few brief seconds of bliss. She sighed and pulled away, looking up at him with a look of disappointment.

"Maybe not." She answered, grabbing his hand and walking towards the door. "But you have to trust me."

As Ryder and Marley tried to desperately hold onto what might be the last hours they had together, Kitty sat in the cafeteria between her mother and her father, both too busy on their cellphones to pay attention to her. She looked up long enough to see Jake walk into the room with a look of disapproval on his face followed by Blaine who looked as pale as a ghost.

"I'll be right back." She mentioned even though she knew her parents wouldn't notice either way. Quickly, she jogged over to the two boys and stopped them both. "What's going on? Where's Marley and Ryder?"

"He's leaving." Jake mumbled sadly, running a hand over his nearly shaved head. Kitty frowned before turning towards Blaine with a questioning look on her face.

"What the hell did you and your fat uncle do?" She snapped, jabbing his chest with her pointer finger.

Blaine, rubbed the spot where her finger had dug into him before looking at her. "He killed my boyfriend. And Burt isn't my uncle."

"I don't really give a rat's ass who that ugly sasquatch was." She pointed out, crossing her arms. "You know Marley right? Yeah? She's pretty much my only friend here and God help you if she gets hurt in this situation."

"I'm your friend, though." Jake interrupted.

Kitty rolled her eyes, not once tearing her gaze away from Blaine's. "Shut it, Puckerman."

"Listen, Kitty. I'm not sure who you think you are but what Ryder did is unforgivable." Blaine mentioned, not backing down even though the blonde was scaring him. He honestly didn't want Ryder to leave as much as Burt did. But at the moment, he felt the need to defend the man.

"Oh no." Kitty said, shaking her head. "What _you_ are doing is unforgivable. You're breaking someone's heart who doesn't even _know_ you. That's sick. I recommend you call sasquatch and tell him to knock it off."

"I don't have to listen to you Kitty."

Kitty nodded her head, a devious smirk cast upon her face scaring both boys. "Fine. But you _will_ regret it."

Marley sat on her bed with her hands in her lap, waiting for her aunt to respond, or give any hint that she had been paying attention in the first place. Ryder was outside the room, where he was instructed to stay until Marley called him in. Her aunt was sitting at the desk staring at Marley with a blank expression on her face.

"You want me to help him?" She asked slowly, carefully choosing her words so as not to offend her niece in any way. When the brunette nodded, she added, "That boy who killed that man's son?"

Marley frowned and pursed her lips as she realized the intent of her aunt's words. She was using them in a condescending manner which annoyed Marley more than anything. "Yes."

"And why is that?" Her aunt asked, tilting her head to the side as she tried to rationalize her niece's request. "Did the boy with hair gel in his hair break your heart or something? Is this an act of revenge?"

"Blaine is gay." Marley pointed out, scrunching her eyebrows as her aunt only nodded her head as if her theory had just been confirmed. "Besides, Ryder is my friend."

Her aunt sighed, putting her hand to her forehead as she thought of different ways to put what she was about to say. "Marley, I don't want to you hang out with murderers. You're going to get hurt."

"He's _not_ a murderer." Marley snapped unaware of Ryder's ability to hear her. He sighed and hung his head as his last hope seemed to fade. "Besides, you helped me out didn't you?"

"That's different."

"How so? Because I was unsuccessful?" Marley challenged, crossing her arms. "Because other than that Ryder and I are pretty similar."

"Marley stop it." Her aunt finally scolded, standing up to walk out of the room.

"No, wait." Marley stood up too, walking towards the door to stand in front of it so her aunt couldn't leave the room. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Please? You always said that if anyone needs my help, I should do whatever I possibly can for them. Just… hear him out."

Her aunt sighed as she thought about it. Within a couple of seconds she was sending the girl a small smile, sighing once more. "You're a good girl, Marley. Don't let a bad boy ruin that."

"He's not a bad boy." Marley whispered, her aunt displeased with her response. It should have been 'I won't let him hurt me' but instead she was choosing to look past the obvious. Unaware of her aunt's attitude, Marley opened the door and Ryder fell backwards into the room. Marley giggled a little before helping him up.

"Uh… yeah. I didn't think that through." Ryder mumbled awkwardly, mentally kicking himself for leaning against the door in the first place. Sticking his hand out towards the lady, he smiled. "I'm Ryder."

Her aunt took his hand. "I'm Cynthia."

Ryder rubbed his hands awkwardly against his jeans before Marley ushered him towards the bed to sit. "Thanks for… uh… trying to help me."

"I'm not positive I can yet." Marley's aunt said, sitting down on Kitty's bed once again. Marley chose to sit next to Ryder in case he needed it. "I need you to be honest with me though. Can you do that?" It took a couple seconds but Ryder nodded his head. "Alright, start from the beginning. What happened that night?"

As Ryder explained the story, Kitty stood outside the door in shock. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do but as she saw Mrs. Lynn standing down the hall on her cell phone, she had a pretty good idea. Quickly, she sauntered over to the woman who seemed to be too engrossed in a conversation to even acknowledge Kitty's existence.

Kitty coughed rudely, the woman turning to give her a pointed stare. "I'm on the phone."

"Your husband's a jackass." Kitty answered, sending the woman a quick sarcastic smile before turning around and walking down the hall. She didn't get very far before the woman called out for her to turn around. Kitty smirked as she turned. "Yes?"

"What makes you think you know my husband?" The woman asked, putting her cellphone into her back pocket. Kitty took note of the woman's perfectly glossed nails.

Kitty chuckled darkly before saying, "Oh, I know enough. Like how he was the one driving the car the night of the accident."

"That's absurd." The woman argued, frowning slightly as her head began to comprehend the information. "My son was driving the car."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Kitty mentioned, smirking slightly. "But given your glamorous lifestyle I'm sure you already knew that. Am I right?"

"What are you getting at?" Mrs. Lynn asked, her face showing a fear Kitty knew all too well.

"I'm just saying, if your husband went to jail, who would pay for your manicures?" Kitty asked, the last word falling from her lips with venom. "I mean, your nails look amazing. I'm sure your son is an easy price to give for nails that look like that."

"I love my son." The woman pressed, crossing her arms so her nails could be hidden. She got them done yesterday so her son could see she was trying to hold herself together but now she was just embarrassed by them.

"I'm sure you do." Kitty said sarcastically, turning around to walk away. Her job was done or so it appeared, or at least step one was complete.

Now on to step two.

Ryder sighed as he finished his story for the second time as Cynthia nodded her head and tried to wrap her mind around what had just been said. "But… I don't want anyone else to know."

"Let me get this straight…" Cynthia started, licking her lips before continuing. Ryder winced at the strict tone she was using. "You mean to tell me that your dad is trying to frame you for something you didn't do that will completely destroy your life… and you want to keep it a secret?"

He knew it sounded illogical and that he _should_ want to get back at his dad but in all honesty he didn't. All he wanted was to go back in time and change everything. "I don't want to hurt any more people."

Cynthia frowned but nodded before standing up. "Well, I can't do much but I will contact Burt and try to convince him to drop the charges, if he even plans on carrying them out."

"That's all you can do?" Marley asked skeptically. One of the only reasons Marley was allowed in here instead of being sent to juvie was the fact that her aunt had helped defend her in court.

"I can't do much if we want this to stay a secret."

Ryder nodded his head sadly, refusing to give in. He'd hurt more people he could count at this point and he didn't want to hurt anyone else. Marley looked over at the boy and smiled slightly just as Cynthia was leaving the room.

"So… your aunt's a lawyer?" Ryder asked after a couple minutes of silence. "That's pretty cool."

"I suppose…" Marley agreed awkwardly, sitting down next to Ryder. "Thanks for trusting me."

Ryder turned towards her with a small smile on his face. "Thanks for caring and I wasn't lying before. You're _really_ awesome."

Marley laughed a little as a red shade covered her face. "Well, what can I say?"

Ryder smiled and looked down. "I really like you Marley."

"I really like you too." Marley responded as her face lit up. She thought for a couple of seconds before asking, "Hey Ryder?"

"Yeah?" He asked, looking over towards her with a small smile on his face.

"You're pretty awesome too."

**I can't write individual responses because I don't have time right now. I have to fill out a lot of paperwork for something. I apologize in advance because you guys are amazing and I love talking to you. I will answer a reoccurring question though. **

**In regards to Blaine's memory in the beginning, when he passed out he began to remember his past. That memory was just to clarify why Ryder had been sent to the rehab. Blaine was the boy he beat up. I'll get to how the car accident wasn't why he was sent to rehab. Blaine was pissed that Kurt had died and took it out on the neighbor. So that's why that happened. **

**Thanks so much for reading and I'll try my hardest to get a chapter out on Wednesday but if I don't then the next update will be on Saturday. Please review and I'll answer them in the next chapter. **


	17. Chapter 17

"What the fuck?" Blaine snarled as he was shoved into a vacant room with a bag over his head. "If this is Ryder, I'm sorry about Burt but it's your own dumbass fault."

Kitty chuckled as she smacked her hands together as if she had just done a great job. "It's not _Ryder._"

"What do you even want?" He sighed reaching up to lift the bag over his head. "Was this really necessary?"

"I needed it for dramatic effect." She mentioned, yanking the bag out of his hands and throwing it to the floor. "We need to talk."

Blaine raised his eyebrows and licked his lips. "About?"

"The accident." Kitty stated easily, crossing her arms and tapping her right foot against the floor. "There's something you need to know."

"You're funny." The little girl stated as she laughed at the blonde in front of her. Ryder laughed a little as his little sister reached over to rub Sam's head. Sam reached over and poked her stomach in just the right way to get her to fall over in a fit of giggles. "Stop!"

"Take that back." Sam persisted, continuing to tickle the little girl who was now having trouble breathing through her laughter.

"N-N-O!" Beth screamed as tears started to fall from her eyes.

Marley reached over and poked Sam in the side as well. He jumped before glaring in Marley's direction. "Don't tickle me."

"You hear that Beth?" Marley asked with a smile on her face. "He's ticklish too."

Beth smiled deviously as she broke loose of Sam's grasp. Slowly, she started walking back over towards Sam, her fingers bent teasingly in front of her ready to attack him when she was close enough. Without a second thought, he stood up and started running around the room with Beth chasing after him.

Marley continued to laugh even after Jake sat down beside her. "This is all so fucked up." He muttered and within seconds he was being pinched. "God, I can't wait 'til that girl leaves." He grumbled as Beth continued to chase after Sam.

"What is?" Ryder asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"You leaving." Jack mumbled simply, his eyes darting towards where his mom was sitting. She was at a table talking to another woman but Jake didn't really care who that was. What mattered was the fact that his mom had barely said more than 3 words to him since she got there.

"That might not be happening." Marley stated proudly, flashing one of her famous smiles in Ryder's direction which was easily returned.

"Alright, what the hell is going on?" Jake asked, looking between the two. "Are you two going out or am I just imagining things?"

Just as Ryder was about to answer, the door burst open and Blaine stormed up to them. "You're lying to people now?"

"What are you talking about?" Ryder asked once he realized the boy was talking to him. "I haven't even said anything…"

"You can't just take responsibility for your mistakes?" Blaine challenged, a look of pure disgust on his face. "Blaming it on your dad now?"

Ryder's face paled as he licked his lips. Why he had thought it'd be a good idea to trust anyone but himself baffled him at this point. Nobody ever looked out for his best interests, even if they did walk around in such a way that made Ryder think about them for hours at night. Marley was no different than anyone else and neither was her aunt.

"_That's_ what a coward does." Blaine spat just as Will walked over to them. He wasn't about to allow a fight to break out _again _in front of the parents. He'd probably be out of a job.

"Why don't we have this talk in my office." Will suggested, grabbing Ryder and Blaine and ushering them out of the room and down the hall. Only when they were in the confines of his office did he open his mouth again. "Now what is this about?"

"He's blaming his dad now!" Blaine screamed, the frustration he felt evident in his tone. "That can ruin your dad's life, Ryder." It was as if Blaine was a kindergarten teacher scolding a misbehaving child. "That same dad who stood by you all this time, who is supporting my family at the moment, who _cares_."

Ryder was silent. He had nothing to say. Telling Marley was just another mistake he'd have to add to his repertoire which seemed to be growing as the hours went on. What bothered him the most wasn't the fact that she or her aunt had obviously told someone. No, he was more bothered by the fact that she genuinely seemed to care but obviously didn't.

She was _just _like his dad in that way.

"You're not even going to say anything? Take responsibility? Apologize?" Blaine pressed, staring at the boy in wonder. "I'm honestly surprised Ryder. You were such a great person and now you're just a waste of space."

"Blaine, that's enough." Will urged, looking at the other brunette carefully in case he'd try to hit Blaine. He didn't seem mad though. He really didn't even seem sad. Broken was the more accurate word.

Blaine looked over at the boy who used to be his friend. He had a cut on his head that wasn't bleeding anymore that Blaine had given him, accompanied by the black eye Burt had left. He was biting his lip and his hands were being rubbed together.

"I thought you were better than this, Ryder." Blaine mumbled once more, trying to get Ryder to respond but he didn't. "You could have at least_ tried_ to be a better brother, one Beth could look up to. You could have _tried_ to be a better son."

"You don't get it Blaine." Ryder whispered, looking at his hands as he rubbed them together in his lap. The warmth the friction was created was almost comforting if not a simple distraction. "You grew up in a house where you could be who you wanted to be. You didn't have to live up to impossible standards or visions your parents had of your life. You just did what _you_ wanted to do and your parents supported you no matter what."

"So this is your revenge on your dad?" Blaine asked, trying to understand what Ryder was getting at but failing. "That's sick."

"No." Ryder shook his head, disturbed by the thought of lying about something so serious as a way to avenge his upbringing. "If I wanted revenge I wouldn't have lied in the first place."

Will grabbed his cellphone and pressed record as the teenagers continued their conversation. He didn't want to push it but he felt he should keep a record in case Ryder did want to eventually tell the truth.

"That makes no sense." Blaine noted.

"Blaine," Ryder sighed, a little frustrated with the situation he had been thrown into. "I wasn't driving the car. Seriously."

"They found you in the driver's seat."

"He made me switch seats." Ryder answered. He didn't want to be in that room. He just wanted to go home, back in time, anywhere but where he was. But sadly, the only place he could go was his room, so he stood up and made his way to the door. "I'm just going to go now…"

And with that said, he started his long, awkward walk towards his room. Sam ran up to him bragging about how he beat Jake in MarioKart, which was virtually impossible, but Ryder just shook his head sadly. His mom too had reached out to grab his attention but Ryder avoided her grasp and kept walking.

"Ryder, wait!" Marley screamed, walking in stride next to him. "What happened?"

This seemed to get Ryder out of his trance. "I trusted you, Marley!"

"I-I didn't… I was with you. How could I have told Blaine?" Marley managed to spit out even though her shock was preventing her from forming accurate sentences. "I was with you…"

"Your aunt wasn't." He spat before turning to walk to his room, where he slammed the door shut behind him.

Marley stood there dumbstruck. That was true but would her aunt really do something so low? She did say she didn't want Marley to hang out with the boy but would she really crush him like that? He was blind-sighted and it wasn't fair.

"You did this." She muttered distastefully as her aunt came into sight. Cynthia's eyes widened as she shook her head slightly. "You just hated the idea of me being friends with him, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah but I didn't..." Cynthia started seemingly at a loss for words which never happened to her. She was surprised that Marley felt so passionately about something that she'd resort to yelling at her, but Marley took this shock as surprise Cynthia got caught.

"I can_not_ believe you would do this!" Marley continued, not once fazed by the group of people that had gathered around. "He trusted me so he trusted you. I hope you're happy."

Marley swung around and marched over to Ryder's door. She pounded on it but he refused to open it, a simple act that was pissing Marley off more than you can imagine.

"What is going on?" Kitty asked, walking down the hall to where Marley was standing. "Did he leave or something?" Her eyes narrowed as the possibility entered her mind. She really didn't want to have to deal with Blaine but she had promised to get revenge if Ryder ended up leaving so she began to plot.

"Yes, Kitty." Marley answered sarcastically. "Ryder left and I'm just here pounding on his door."

"Alright, alright. Sheesh." Kitty mumbled, reaching into her hair and grabbing a bobby pin. "Just use this."

Kitty took the pin from her hand and shoved it into the lock. Carefully, but not very accurately she started wiggling it until the blonde pushed her out of the way. "What the heck, Kitty?"

"Obviously you've never broken in anywhere." The blonde retorted, moving her hands in just the right way to get the lock to open. "What happened anyway?"

"_Someone, _aka my Aunt, decided to tell Blaine about Ry…" Marley started ranting until she realized not everyone knew what was going on. "She just told him something she had no right telling."

Kitty's face flushed and her mouth dried. The goal was to get Ryder to stay but it appeared as if her plan had taken another direction. "Oh… uh… well that's too bad."

Marley nodded her head and stepped into the room, Ryder groaning as he saw her walk in. She shut the door behind her and locked it before walking over to his bed, where he was laying down, and sitting down on the floor next to his head.

"I didn't tell, Ry." She said softly. "I swear on my _life_ that I wouldn't do something like that."

"I know." He mumbled, turning to look at the ceiling. "I just hate that I can't trust people."

"You can trust me." She urged, taking the chance to reach over and rub her fingers through his hair. He shut his eyes peacefully, in response.

When he opened his eyes, he sat up with a small smile on his face. "You wanna do something?"

"And what is there to do?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "We're kind of trapped in this building."

Ryder smiled and stood up from the bed, grabbing a small blanket from the closet and pulling Marley by the hand out the door. "Come on Marls."

"Marls?" She asked with a smile on her face. They ignored the stares from the many different people in the hallway and continued towards their destination.

"You called me Ry." He answered in defense, opening the door to the kitchen. "You like strawberries?"

She smiled as she thought of the many ways that Ryder had changed her. When she got here, she wasn't open. She didn't want anyone to touch her. But now, she felt like she could talk to Ryder about mostly anything. And she'd be lying if she said she didn't crave his touch.

"Yeah." She answered simply, the smile never once leaving her face.

**So… I was actually considering stopping the story completely here, but I figured that wasn't very fair considering there was no warning or anything. Plus, there's a lot of loose ends and some questions that still have to be answered. But that's why they made sequels right? **

**Oh well. I'm not ending it yet. Maybe 5-7 more chapters, I'd say. Who knows? **

**So thanks to everyone who reviewed 15 and 16! These responses are from 2 chapters so bear with the length. :)**

**Sara/Guest: **You met John Green!? That's pretty awesome. :) I've never met anyone famous. Yeah… I like Liverpool but I love London so much better! Omg. I saw like 3 broadway/whatever they're called in England there. It was amazing. Plus the Queen and her majesticness. Amazing country. :) What's GYOW? I LOVED their dancing! Oh my gosh. It was so majorly cute, I just… oh gosh. They're just perfection. Haha. I'll try to put that in there, the passionate kiss that will make you drown in tears I mean. THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D I am SO sorry that you stayed up so late and I didn't even update. SO SORRY!

**Iluvwillschuester: **He was just having a dream type thing because he fainted. (at the beginning of 15) :P Burt IS a jerk to my poor baby. It's not fair. You are totally better than I am! Don't even try to say otherwise! But you're amazing at basketball so stop complaining lol. You're probably the point guard and the captain and the MVP of every game. Fanfiction REALLY pissed me off the other day. Oh my gosh. Do they not know that I update EVERY Saturday?! It just bothered me that it happened on Saturday of all days. Lol. What book did you do for your book report?

**Serendipulous: **I'M SORRY! But as long as you aren't being punched, Ryder is. It's ok. I hate Burt too.

**Iheartart13: **LUCKY! Mental health days are the best. :) Aw thanks! Your comments always make me smile and blush. Holy cow, you're so nice! MORE THAN ICE CREAM AND COOKIES!? That's impossible. You're crazy. :P Thank you SO so so so so so much. You're so sweet and I just love you with all my heart.

**Alli-Loves-Glee: **Haha thanks for the lovely comment(s). I'm still debating whether or not to have Ryder leave. I have ideas for both scenarios.

**Gossipglee1: **Yes. I'm working on that. I'm not sure how I'm going to reveal the information completely, but it will happen eventually. Thank you SO much for being so sweet. You have no idea how much your sweetness means to me!

**Popcorn0912: **THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'm working on the kiss, don't you worry. I already promised Sara haha. I love them together too!

**TotalGleek16: **In the end of chapter 14, Blaine fainted right before Ryder was knocked out by Burt. The beginning of 15 was Blaine remembering a part of his past while he was out. :) Yep. The neighbor is the autistic kid that was being made fun of (by Blaine) so Ryder beat up Blaine. :)

**B/Guest 1: **I'm just really mad that the good guy didn't win, you know? Like clearly, Jake is a good guy and everything but Ryder was good from the beginning. So why did Marley have to be mean and pick Jake (even if they are absolutely adorable haha)? It doesn't make sense to me. Ugh. Oops. Sorry. You'll just have to wait a little longer for that kiss. ;) I'm so honored that I make you squeal lol. That just makes me so proud. :P

**Reflections of Twilight: **Oh my gosh. What exactly do you cut up? Lol. I like lighting things on fire but not like creepily. I just like burning things in my fire pit when we have barbeques. Ugh. John Green is so overrated though. I do like watching his videos on youTube though. Next chapter will be FULL of Ryley moments. :) Definitely, math takes the award for worst ever work. It was totally just created to make students life crap. FEEL BETTER!

**Bri Deene/Guest: **All of the other stories have Kitty being such a bitch so I figured I'd switch it up a little and make her actually show concern for someone else. Thank SOO much for the comment. You are awesome!

**DrewLucyJaria: **Thank you so much for the lovely comment. DUDE, UPDATE YOUR STORY! I'M DYING! Lol. :)

**That took me SO long to do because it was two chapters worth and you guys don't comment in the same order every time. I was super confused. Lol. Well, I'm going to get back to watching Ellen because she's my favorite and I love her. **

**GET READY FOR THE WEMMA WEDDING TOMORROW! **


	18. Chapter 18

"How many times have you done this before?" Marley asked, taking a bite from one of the chocolate covered strawberries that Ryder had made minutes before. He smirked as he grabbed one as well.

"Done what? Made chocolate strawberries or eat them with a pretty girl?"

Marley choked a little on her strawberry as she laughed a little. "Does that line normally work?"

"Depends." Ryder chuckled a little, raising his eyebrows slightly. "Is it working now?"

Marley laughed again and nodded her head as she put another piece of strawberry into her mouth. Ryder smirked proudly and laughed a little to himself. "I've never made chocolate covered strawberries before… for anyone." He said after he thought for a moment. "I was praying I wouldn't burn the chocolate."

As the two of them continued to bond over chocolate covered fruit, Kitty was close to having a panic attack. She hadn't meant any harm by telling Blaine but it seemed as if trouble followed her around and now her only friend was going to be devastated. She hadn't thought of the consequences of anyone else knowing.

She _never_ thought of the consequences.

That's how she got too heavy. That's why her dad, or any other male, had ever called her pretty. They looked at her with a condescending stare that practically screamed 'aw, it's cute you think can pull that outfit off'.

The thoughts were entering her head again, the dark ones that took over every so often, and she bit her tongue to come back, to get her healthy thoughts back. But they wouldn't return so easily. She knew that from experience.

Quickly, and a little erratically, she walked down the hall to Mr. Schuester's office. She saw him standing there talking to some woman she'd never seen before.

"Hey, Mr. Schu?" She asked quietly, not really all that concerned with the fact that she interrupted something that seemed important. "Can… can I talk to you?"

"It's not a good time, Kitty." Will muttered, looking over at the teenager briefly. "Schedule an appointment with Ms. Pillsbury." With that said, he continued his conversation with the woman and Kitty was left to herself and her inner demons.

"He can't sue you directly, Will." The woman, who turned out to be Cynthia, said in response to Will as Kitty walked away down the hall. "And even if he could, which he won't, you'll win."

"But at what cost?" Will asked in an aggravated tone. "No one will ever send their kids here if we're being sued."

"That isn't necessarily true." Cynthia pointed out, putting her hands on her hips. "Kids come here from all across the country to get better and from what I can see you're doing an amazing job." She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about. _I _am going to make sure he doesn't sue at all."

"Thanks Cynthia." Will smiled, breathing a sigh of relief.

3 hours later, Marley and Ryder were lying on the roof staring up at the sky. It was a little cloudy but they could still see a couple stars and were having fun trying to make their own constellations.

"That one looks like a sheep." Ryder pointed up at the sky, trying his best to point directly at the cluster of stars he was talking about so Marley could see too.

Marley laughed and shook her head. "That looks nothing like a sheep."

"Have you ever seen a sheep before?"

Marley looked over at him with her eyebrows scrunched slightly. "No…"

"Maybe you should look for one because that's obviously a sheep." Ryder mumbled in response, turning his head so he could look at her too.

"Well, have _you_ seen a sheep before?" She challenged, raising her eyebrows.

He bit his lip with a smile on his face. "That's beside the point." He muttered, sitting up and looking down at her. "I know what they look like whereas you don't seem to."

She laughed as she sat up as well. "Maybe you're the one who needs to see a real sheep because that looks nothing like one." She stood up fully and dusted her butt off before reaching her hand down to help him up.

He scoffed and grabbed onto her hand. "I was the best at picking out the different animals in preschool. I'm basically a pro."

When they were both standing, there was no need to hold hands, but Ryder didn't want to let go. He didn't know what was going to happen, if he'd have to leave. But the one thing he did know was that he never wanted to lose the girl in front of him.

"What time is it?" She asked, breaking his train of thought for a couple seconds.

He let go of her hand and reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone. "It's a little after midnight. You tired?"

Truthfully, she was exhausted but she didn't want to go to bed. She wanted to stay awake with him and laugh with him and see his smile. "No."

"You want to watch a movie?" He asked with a small smile on his face. She smiled and nodded her head.

"I just have to change into some PJs." She said as she followed him to the door to the building. Once they were down the staircase and into the hallway, Marley walked one way and Ryder walked the other. He decided he'd get changed too and they'd meet up in the lounge when they were both finished.

As soon as Marley was done changing, she walked into the hallway and was about to start walking towards the lounge when she noticed Ryder's light still on. She figured she'd have enough time to run to the bathroom so she bit her lip and started jogging down the hall in the opposite way.

It smelled in the bathroom but that was usual so she didn't think anything of it, but as she turned the corner to run into a stall, she saw red liquid coming from the shower. Biting her lip, she crept slowly around the corner in an attempt to see what it was.

"Hello?" She asked slowly. A sniffle followed but it wasn't Marley. Against her better judgment, which was telling her to turn around and walk back to Ryder, she yanked the curtain of the shower open, revealing Kitty sitting on the floor, holding one of her wrists. "Kitty!"

The blonde, although she felt lightheaded, looked up and Marley saw the tears pouring from her eyes. "It… it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Ryder!" Marley screamed, bending over and yanking her pajama shirt off, which was luckily over top of a cami, and wrapped it around her bleeding wrist. "Ryder!"

"Stop.." Kitty mumbled weakly as she leaned her back on the wall and slipped farther down. "It's ok."

"No it's not, Kitty." Marley pressed, turning behind her quickly. "Help!" She screamed louder than before.

Ryder pulled a sweatshirt over his head and grabbed his phone from the dresser. He looked quickly at his reflection in the mirror to make sure he looked appropriate for Marley. Licking his lips, he took a deep breath and left the room. Only two steps down the hall did he hear the screaming.

He didn't know where it was coming from but he knew whose voice it was. Marley.

"Ryder!" He heard and started running in the opposite direction. He pushed her bedroom door open but she wasn't inside. "Help!"

Lights were going on as people were woken up by her yelling, but he ignored them as he jogged down the hall to where her voice was coming from. He pleaded and begged whoever was listening to his thoughts to help him, to make sure that she was alright.

Fighting against the thoughts that were telling him to stay out of the girl's bathroom, he pushed open the door and almost slipped because he was running so fast. "Marley?" He called and was met with a brief moment of silence.

"Ryder?" He heard her say. Sighing in relief, he walked farther into the room and saw her sitting on the ground with a puddle of blood beside her.

He walked quickly over to her and saw Kitty lying on the floor, looking like she was about to pass out. "What happened?"

"Get Mr. Shue!" Marley screamed, making Ryder look at her in shock rather than at the blonde. She looked like she was about to cry making Ryder wonder if she could handle being in here alone.

"You go." Ryder mumbled, as he knelt down. "I'll stay here with Kitty."

"Are you sure?" Marley asked as she bit her lip. Ryder nodded his head before turning to look at Kitty.

When Marley left, Ryder sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "What were you thinking Kitty?"

"I told Blaine." She whispered, shutting her eyes. Ryder reached forward and grabbed her, slapping her face lightly to get her to open your eyes.

"Stay awake, Kitty." He soothed, applying pressure to her wounds. "Just stay awake."

"I told him."

Although Ryder wasn't exactly sure how that was even possible he nodded his head and smiled a little. "No big deal."

"You.. you're not mad at me?"

"Not as long as you stay awake." He reassured, pressing harder on her wrist. She winced at first but as time went on, the pain began to fade. Not just the pain in her wrist, but the pain in her heart.

It didn't hurt anymore.

And as Will ran into the room with Marley behind him the vision of Ryder looking down at her faded. She could hear their voices frantically trying to get her to open her eyes, but they were muffled and ignored.

Her weight, for once, didn't matter. She was in darkness and she was happy.

**Phew… that took forever to write. Can we just talk about the Wemma Wedding episode for just a second. First of all, I'm really upset they didn't end up getting married. I love Will and Emma. Second of all, my love for Ryder escalated… until he kissed his friend's girlfriend… but Ryder was nicer to her from the start and I'd be absolutely lying if I said I didn't squeal in excitement when they kissed. And WHY WAS EVERYONE HAVING SEX!? Oh my gosh… it was like a musical sex scene. Lol. Crazy. Any of you think Rachel is actually pregnant/going to have the baby? **

**Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing:**

**Hannah/Guest: **Thanks so much for the review and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint.

**PandaChubz31: **Love your username with a passion. Just thought I'd let you know. :) Thanks for the comment and the compliment. It means so much.

**Sara/Guest: **Haha. YOU MET OBAMA!? Now, I'm officially mega jealous of you. Awesome! Have fun in London! I saw Wicked there too! It was fantastic. RYDER IS DEFINITELY THE BEST CHOICE FOR MARLEY AND I SCREAMED WHEN THE KISSED! But I don't want them the get together by cheating. BUT OH MY GOSH THAT KISS MADE MY LIFE! …. And now we have to wait 3 weeks for new episodes… :/ I'll put some more Sam in the next chapters, I promise. :) As for Jake, I'm working on him. Haha. :) HAVE FUN IN LONDON GIRL! I'll be waiting for your comment. :)

**Iheartart13: **Aw thanks! I'm sorry I almost gave you a heart attack. :P I will definitely continue with more stories after LOM is done. I'll probably do a sequel… which I'm planning riiiiiiggghhhht now. :) Thanks for always making me smile with your comments. Love you too! 3

**Bri Deene/Guest: **Thank you! OH MY GOSH I KNOW! (sorry, I have to scream while talking about this episode.) I LOVED THEIR KISS TOO! I JUST DON'T WANT JAKE TO FIND OUT AND GET MAD! I really like their friendship. RACHEL IS PREGGO! She was kinda being a whore though sooooo… bound to happen. Haha. :)

**Iluvwillschuester: **GIIIIIRRRRLLLLL! When I was watching the episode, I just kept thinking 'oh my gosh, she's gonna be ppiiiiiiisssedd'. I'm so sorry Wemma didn't get married. I'm still pretty pissed about that. Thanks for the lovely comment though. :) YOU CAN TOTALLY BE AN MVP! Stop lying to yourself! You're perfect! Haha. Oh stop it! I totally care!

**GuestB: **LET'S TALK ABOUT RYLEY FOR A SECOND. I JUST LOV THEM! BUT NOW HE'S NOT A GOOD FRIEND… JUST A REALLY GOOD BOYFRIEND. In his defense though, everyone knew he liked her, even Jake did. But still. Aw thank you darling. You're so sweet and I always love your comments.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Thank you sooo much for that comment. It made my day. You are TOO sweet. :)

**TotalGleek16: **I know… I don't really like Blaine right now. I went to my 8th grade dance with this boy who has autism. I love him, so I'd kill Blaine too (Even if he is hot). :) PS: Sequels make me happy too. :) Oh and yes, I'll b updating 'Crash into me' regularly starting on… Tuesday I suppose.

**Reflections of Twilight: **No way! My brother got a detention once for trying to light his pants on fire in chemistry with one of those fire lighter things. Maybe I'll read one of his books… maybe. :) Thanks for the comment. I know! I was so happy with their kiss, it isn't even funny. :P I KNOW! Rachel is going to be quite the annoying pregnant hormone lady. Haha.

**Thanks to EVERYONE who reads this and I'm actually in the midst of planning a sequel… but needn't worry. There's still at least 5 chapters left of this. I can't end it here obviously. :P**

**Well, I'm going to go out to dinner with my parents and then go to a party for one of my friends. I hope you guys have an amazing LONG weekend and remember… if you don't wear pants, you'll be suspended and then you won't have to go to school. Just a word of advice for all my lovely readers. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

Marley gulped as she watched the stretcher roll past her with the blonde on top of it. The paramedics were wrapping and rewrapping her wrist to try to control the bleeding. In Marley's opinion they were doing a lousy job but she wasn't a paramedic. Will sighed from beside her but she didn't turn towards him. She was too distracted by the pool of blood that was surrounding her feet. She shivered at the thought and almost immediately afterwards, a warm piece of clothing was being wrapped around her arms.

She looked down and saw Ryder's sweatshirt now covering her arms. She wanted to smile but it wasn't working, so instead she just looked up at him and blinked a few times.

She was scared, he knew that much, but there wasn't one bone inside of him that didn't want her to do something other than look blankly in his direction. Ryder wrapped his arm around the girl and pulled her towards him as if that simple gesture would protect her from the memories that now haunted her thoughts.

"I'm not going to ask you why both of you were walking around this late at night together because quite honestly, you saved her life." Will started, looking over at the two teenagers who looked exhausted and scared. "You should get to bed. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

Ryder nodded his head simply as he began to walk towards the exit of the bathroom still holding on to Marley protectively. As they entered the hallway, they saw a bunch of teenagers standing by their doors in their pajamas trying to see what was going on. It made Marley sick to her stomach.

She growled in their direction, glaring at everyone she could before Ryder pulled her closer and covered her eyes with his other hand. "Stop…" He whispered. "Don't pay attention to them."

She didn't respond; words weren't being formed in her head. Suddenly they stopped walking and his hand was being lifted from her eyes so he could open her bedroom door. Slowly, he led her inside the empty room and towards her bed.

"Lay down…" He ordered softly and when she did he pulled the blanket over her so she'd be warm. He kissed her forehead lightly before turning around and walking towards the door. With one swift movement, he shut the light off and moved his hand so he could open the door.

The brief moment of darkness sent bad memories into the brunette's mind and she couldn't help but be reminded of the fact that Kitty wasn't here. "Can you leave the light on?"

He turned around and licked his lips before turning the light switch back on. "She'll be ok, you know." He soothed even though he had no way of knowing if that was actually the truth.

She nodded her head and watched as he began to open the door. "Hey Ryder?"

"I swear if you tell me to turn the lights off…" He joked as he turned back around. To his surprise, she actually smiled a little before shaking her head.

"Can you stay with me?" She asked softly, biting her lips afterwards. She didn't want to be alone and she wouldn't have been if Kitty hadn't have cut herself.

He nodded his head and slowly made his way across the room as the door shut behind him. "Like in there?" He asked, pointing to her bed. "Or there?" He asked, this time pointing towards Kitty's bed. He wasn't sure how thrilled he'd be if she motioned towards Kitty's bed, but if that's what she wanted then so be it. He'd do it for her. He'd even sleep on the floor at this point.

Quietly, but quickly enough so he wasn't waiting for her decision, she scooted over towards the wall and lifted the blanket up. As she patted the spot she had just made beside her, he smiled a little before lying down next to her.

He wasn't sure what she wanted him to do, but if he didn't wrap his arms around her he was going to fall off the bed. She didn't object, in fact she welcomed his touch. It was the only thing capable of distracting her from everything that had just happened.

As her head rested on his warm chest she suddenly became aware of how tired she actually was and he watched as her eyes fluttered clothes. Swiftly, he leaned down and kissed her forehead lightly, smiling to himself when he saw a tiny smile appear on her face.

She fell asleep shortly after but it didn't last long because of the nightmares that interrupted her dreams. Every so often, she'd wake up sweating and Ryder was quick to assure her it was all alright. He wasn't able to sleep either seeing as every time he shut his eyes, images of Kitty lying in a puddle of her own blood crept to the front of his mind.

Around 6 in the morning, Marley began whimpering followed by kicking and flailing her arms. She woke up screaming, but when she turned to hug Ryder, he wasn't there.

"Ryder?" She called, almost about to cry when she realized just how alone she really was. She sat up and looked over at the other bed in the room. It was empty. Still. Biting her lip, she was about to swing her legs over the edge of the bed to go somewhere else when she saw Ryder sitting on the floor rubbing his head. "Why are you sitting on the floor?"

"You pushed me off the bed." He grumbled, rubbing the spot where his head had smacked against the side table. "You're _really _strong."

She bit her lip but couldn't stop the giggle that managed to escape. "Sorry…"

He looked up at her, ready to snap at her for laughing at his current pain, but he stopped himself. She was smiling and whether it was because he had hit his head or whatever, he didn't ever want to see it fade. So instead of freaking out, he asked, "Are you ok?"

Her smile faded, much to his disappointment, as she was forced to remember the nightmare she had just woken up from. "I think so."

"Do you want to go back to sleep?" He asked skeptically and nodded when she shook her head. "Are you hungry?" She shook her head again. "Well then what do you want to do?"

"I want to go back in time." She whispered slowly and softly.

He stared at her for a couple of seconds before nodding his head. "Well, that makes two of us."

Will walked down the hallway with Emma by his side. They were on their way to talk to each of the teens separately, pick their brains for what they know, what they saw. Emma stopped in front of the door numbered '13', and knocked as Will continued down the hall to Ryder's room. "Marley? It's Emma."

"One second." Marley responded, standing up and running a hand through her hair. Ryder stayed on the floor and yawned a little as Marley opened the door for Emma to walk in. "Have you heard anything?"

"Oh uh no, not exactly." Emma mumbled, her eyes landing on Ryder. She stepped backwards out of the room and called Will towards her. "So you two _both_ slept in here?"

"Yep." Marley answered without thinking. Emma nodded her head in understanding but Will was less keen on the idea of the two teens spending the night together.

"Well, I didn't sleep." Ryder cut in, trying to lessen Will's aggravation.

Marley turned towards him with wide eyes. "That makes it sound _worse._ And don't lie, you did sleep."

"Sorry." He mumbled before shaking his head. "No, I really didn't."

"Why not?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"I couldn't sleep." He shrugged before turning towards Mr. Schuester as he coughed.

Will sighed, already feeling less annoyed. "You two can't do this. You can't roam the hall late at night. You can't sleep in the same room. Alright?"

Emma sighed and sat down on Kitty's bed, an action that made Marley a little mad. "Do you have any idea why Kitty would do what she did?" The red head asked as Will sat down beside her.

"I don't want to tell you how to do your job," Ryder started, licking his lips. "But isn't it kinda your job to know that?"

Will ran a tired hand through his hair. Truth be told, he hadn't gotten much sleep last night either. "That's what we're doing right now. Finding out."

Both teens shook their head. "So she didn't tell you anything?" Emma asked.

"No." Marley answered simply.

Ryder licked his lips and shook his head slightly before looking up with a guilty expression on his face. "Actually, she told me that she told Blaine."

"Told Blaine what?" Emma pressed, leaning forward slightly.

"_She _told Blaine?" Marley asked as she thought for a second. "Why didn't you tell me she said that?"

"Why didn't you tell me you told Kitty?" Ryder challenged back, making Marley narrow her eyes.

"I already told you, I didn't tell anyone." She spat back, crossing her arms as he scoffed and shook his head.

"Well then how did she find out?" He questioned, his eyes narrowed too.

Emma looked back and forth between the two, watching as the argument carried on. "Told Blaine _what?" _She interrupted again with more force. "What did she tell Blaine?"

"What did you say after that?" Will asked, making Ryder look at him instead of the other two women in the room.

"I just told her to stay awake." Ryder shrugged slightly as Marley sat down on her bed, angry with the whole situation.

"Good job with that by the way." She muttered sarcastically. "That was your _one_ job."

"I _tried._" Ryder responded, refusing to look at her.

"For the love of God, someone answer my question." Emma interrupted her voice frantic.

Ryder turned towards her quickly. "She told Blaine that my dad was the one driving the car that killed Blaine's boyfriend."

The room was silent for a couple of minutes before Will nodded his head a little. "Did you say anything to her before that to indicate that telling Blaine was a bad thing?"

"I complained to her about how someone had told Blaine something." Marley answered, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty. It was easier to blame Ryder. "Oh God… this is all my fault."

"No it's not." Ryder mumbled, looking up at her. "I couldn't keep her awake."

"_Stop!" _Marley screamed. "You have a problem, Ryder!"

Ryder opened his mouth as shock and surprise ran through him. Sure, he had problems but didn't everyone? And not even just everyone in this place, but literally _everyone._ And why in the world was she yelling at _him? _He was only trying to make her feel better. "What are you talking about?"

"I just blamed you for something you didn't have any part in and instead of sticking up for yourself you comfort me!" Marley yelled, flailing her arms around frantically, annoyed with the situation. "Grow up and fight back!"

With that said, she left the room, slamming the door on the way out. Emma followed closely behind her to ensure she wouldn't do anything completely outrageous. Will crossed the room and sat down next to Ryder, who was looking down at his hands awkwardly.

"She's right, you know." Will pointed out softly, making the boy look up at him with a frown on his face. "You can make this all go away if you just tell someone the truth."

"This won't go away." Ryder answered simply. "Kurt will still be dead. Blaine will still hate me. Nothing will change other than I'll feel even guiltier than I already do."

"But you shouldn't feel guilty. You did nothing wrong."

"I let him drive!" Ryder snapped, before sighing and calming down. "I knew he was drunk and I let him drive anyway. I should've stopped him. I should've tried harder. It's my fault."

Will shook his head and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "He's the dad, Ryder. He should be making sure you don't screw up, not the other way around."

"I can't." Ryder whispered, shaking his head. "I can't do that to my mom… or my sister. It's not fair to them."

"It's not fair to _you." _Will mumbled before standing up. "I'm not saying you _have_ to say anything. I'm just letting you know that if you do, I'll back you up. You deserve to be happy Ryder and I hope that someday you'll see that too."

With that said, Will walked out of the room and suddenly Ryder's lack of sleep caught up to him. The way they were all trying to get him to think was exhausting. He could barely keep his eyes open long enough to climb back into Marley's bed and wrap the covers over him.

Marley, on the other hand, was wide awake as she sat in the lounge watching Sam and Jake play some stupid PlayStation game. It had been about 4 hours since she blew up at Ryder and the guilt was torturing her. She'd talk to him when he entered the room, but that didn't seem to be happening any time soon.

"Hey, Marley?" Jake asked, sitting down next to her. She looked over at him with a questioning look on her face. "What's gotten you so down?"

"Nothing." She muttered, looking away from them as Sam jumped in the air for scoring a point.

"Hey Marls, you should really try playing this." Sam mentioned, sitting down on the other side of her. "I'm really good at it."

"Sam, you just scored on yourself." Jake muttered tiredly, shaking his head in disappointment. "I didn't even know that was _possible." _

Sam opened his mouth to fight back but Marley was distracted by Will walking into the room with Emma behind him. She jumped up and walked over to them, leaving Sam and Jake staring after her surprised. "Is Ryder ok? Did you tell him I'm sorry like I told you to?" The second question was directed at Emma, who was now shaking her head.

"I haven't spoken to him." She mentioned before turning towards Will. "And you're sure he's telling the truth?"

"Positive." Will confirmed, nodding his head. "If there's one thing I know about Ryder, it's that he wouldn't lie about sometime this significant."

"What? What's going on with Ryder?" Marley asked, interrupting the conversation once more.

"He's going to testify." Will muttered, causing Emma to give him a strange look. "Against his dad."

**Dun Dun DUUNNN! Sorry. I know it wasn't that dramatic but I've been watching this really old batman show and that noise happens every two seconds for no apparent reason. I thought it was appropriate. :P And no, I haven't taken my pants off in school to get suspended. I just thought I'd give you a suggestion you might never have heard before. **

**Another suggestion: Fake sick. Works like a charm. **

**Alrighty, thanks to: **

**GuestB: **Thanks so much! Your comments always make me so happy. No lie. I was really upset they didn't get married. I was more shocked than anything though. I mean, Emma barely ever gets to sing and then all of a sudden she's singing super, super, super fast. RYLEY was adorable though! It killed me.

**Hannah/Guest: **Thanks so much for commenting. It means so much to me!

**Iluvwillschuester: **What is it with guys and seeing sheep in things? Omg. My brother thought he saw a sheep at the zoo in the elephant cage. Like literally, he thought they put a sheep with the elephants. But that's just my brother. He's kinda stupid. Lol. Self-harm scares me too. People can hide it so well and that scares me. Plus, it scares me to think that if I ever get really depressed that the only relief may be to cause physical pain. I've never gotten there but it's scary to think about. No, I wore pants. Lol. Don't worry. I'm not crazy…. Well not completely crazy. Ryan Murphy is driving me crazy though.

**Bri Deene/Guest: **Thanks so much! I really like Finn so I want it to be him but I'm not sure. And omg, is Brody a prostitute? Like what was that? I like Alli (the girl who plays Betty) because I liked her on the Glee project but I'm not sure if I like her character yet… I'm still deciding. Do you?

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Thanks! It was fun! My friend moved so she was visiting which is why we had the party. It was fun. I'm actually really upset that they didn't get married. Like, I cried. I didn't really understand them either. What is Ryan doing!? I just don't get it. Lol.

**Iheartart13: **I LOVE RYDER TOO! I LITERALLY SCREAMED AND FELL OFF THE COUCH! HE'S JUST SO PERFECT! My mom was watching it with me and she's a Jarley fan so she was just like "Ryder is the worst friend ever. He needs to get beat up." BUT HE'S SUCH A PERFECT BOYFRIEND AND I JUST LOVE HIM! I love YOU through eternity. We have to fangirl together during the episodes. Haha.

**DrewLucyJaria: **I KNOW! I read it and I'm just so happy he's not dead! :) I think I commented (I'm totally going to check that though because lately I've been forgetting a lot of stuff.)

**Reflections of Twilight: **Oh yeah. I'm in Physics now so we don't use fire at all. I wish we did. I really like watching things burn… but not in a I'm-going-to-become-an-arson type of way. Haha alright. I'll pick it up next time I'm at the book store. I watch the kiss every day. Oh my gosh it's just so perfect. See, I didn't get Quinntana though. It just seemed completely random to me. I'm really nervous about pregnant Rachel lol. She's gonna be overwhelming. I just know it.

**Gossipglee1: **Thanks so much! You have no idea how happy that makes me. Thanks SOOOO much. Kitty hasn't died… yet if she ever will.

**TotalGleek16: **You're welcome! I'm always here if you need some awesome, random advice. Yep. Kitty is cutting herself. ME TOO! I'm so conflicted because I actually like Jake and Marley and I like Jake and Ryder's friendship but I'm in love with Ryder and Marley. He's just so much better for her in my opinion.

**Have an amazing rest of the week and I'm going to try to do my physics homework. My teacher is kinda a jerk though so I might just spite her and not do it. Ugh. I hate her. Anyway…. Have a GREAT rest of the week and don't forget to make me smile by commenting. **

**SORRY FOR TYPOS OR SPELLING ERRORS OR WHATEVER I'VE DONE WRONG! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

Marley was pacing outside of Mr. Schu's office waiting for Ryder to come out with news. She hadn't talked to him since yesterday when she yelled at him. Hell, she hadn't even seen him. But she knew that this trial was going to wear him down and she knew she had to be there for him. She owed it to him for all the times he was there for her.

The door opened and Emma walked out holding a stack of papers. "Oh hi Marley." She said as if she had absolutely no idea that Marley had been waiting out there for about an hour. Marley wanted to glare at her for so clearly ignoring her, but she didn't. That could wait.

"What's going on?" She decided to ask instead, stepping forward and blocking Emma from walking past her.

"I'm not sure I'm supposed to say anything." Emma said, smiling at the end of the sentence. It wasn't a real smile, Marley could tell. So when Emma tried to sidestep and continue down the hallway, Marley stepped sideways and stood in front of her. "Marley, I have to get these papers to your aunt."

"My aunt?" Marley asked, raising her eyebrows in shock before scrunching them as confusion took over. "What does she have to do with Ryder?"

Emma sighed, getting annoyed with the lack of understanding Marley seemed to have of the situation. Ryder walked out of the room, though, at that point and the brunette's attention was diverted towards him. Seeing the opportunity, Emma sidestepped and walked down the hallway in the direction of the family members who hadn't left yet.

"She's going to be my lawyer." Ryder explained as he shut Will's door behind him. "You know, against my dad and all."

"Ryder, I'm _really_ sorry." Marley mumbled, reaching forward and putting her hand on his arm. "I was such a jerk and I'm truly sorry."

He half smiled, making Marley feel even worse about what she had said and done. "Don't be. I was just too stupid to realize that you were right."

"You weren't stupid." Marley said softly, rubbing his arm at this point. He smiled for a couple of seconds before frowning a little. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not really sure I want to do this." He answered, taking a deep breath and biting his lip slightly. "It's really scary."

"It'll be fine. I'm really proud of you." She soothed, hugging him as tightly as she could, which he didn't really mind. He liked being anywhere near her. "My aunt is amazing at what she does."

"What's your aunt do?" Another brunette asked, coming towards them with a small frown on his face. When Blaine finally reached them, he put his hands in his pockets.

"She's a lawyer." Marley answered, smiling up at Ryder slightly who was now frowning.

Blaine scoffed and shook his head. "You're really going to sue your dad?"

"Hey guys!" Sam called, walking up to them with a giant smile on his face. "So I just talked to Mr. Schuester and he said that we all get to go visit Kitty today!"

Ryder scrunched his eyebrows and looked at the door behind him which was still shut. "Uh… Mr. Schu is in there."

"No he's not." Sam answered simply, turning only when he heard his name being called from down the hall. The other three reciprocated his movement and watched as Jake walked towards them with a small smile on his face.

"This isn't the cafeteria." Jake pointed out, standing in front of the three of them.

"Thank you, captain obvious." Marley spat sarcastically, with a small smile on her face.

"No, I told Sam here to go get me some snacks from the kitchen." Jake answered with an unimpressed look on his face. "That was the deal, man. I beat you, you get me food."

"But I won!" Sam bellowed, causing a couple of the other kids in the hallway to look over at him.

"Hey Blaine?" Ryder started. "Can I talk to you?"

"That's such a lie!" Jake argued back, turning towards Sam as Blaine stared at Ryder awkwardly. "I beat you by 30 points!"

"You're lying." Sam refuted, shaking his head in disgust until he was pushed up against the wall. "Get off of me."

"Get off of him!" Ryder warned, pulling Jake back. "C'mon man. Don't do this."

Blaine stared with his mouth open in shock. He'd been in this situation before, only he had been where Jake was. The flashback threatened to overtake him like it had previously, so he put his back against the wall and slid down it with his eyes closed. His eyelids were too heavy to keep them open.

"Shit." Ryder breathed out, turning to look at Blaine who seemed like he was about to throw up and then pass out in it. "Put your head between your knees, man." He instructed before turning back towards Jake and Sam. "Jake, stop. It's not worth it."

"You calling me a liar?" Jake spat at the blonde. Ryder rolled his eyes before pulling Jake back with more force than he had before. "_Stop_!"

"Just stop Jake." Marley butt in, stepping forward to help Ryder out who seemed a little overwhelmed as he tried to help both Sam and Blaine. "Leave Sam alone."

"I'm so fucking tired of everyone treating Sam like he's a four year old!" Jake screamed back, pushing Sam further against the wall. "It isn't cute when he lies!"

"I'm _not_ lying." Sam argued back, trying to push Jake off of him. Ryder rolled his eyes a little before pulling back on Jake harder.

"C'mon Jake. Just stop." He mumbled as Marley moved to help Blaine.

"Whatever." Jake growled, loosening his grip slightly.

Ryder stepped back and loosened his grip on Jake as he calmed down a little. As Jake took deep breaths, Ryder turned and saw Blaine sitting on the floor with his head in his hands. "You alright?"

"What do you care?" Blaine spat, regretting it as a sharp pain pieced through his skull.

Ryder turned towards the other three people who were standing next to him and his eyes landed on Marley. He gave her a simple look and she knew exactly what it meant. Without saying a word, she grabbed Sam and Jake and led them towards the lounge.

"Can I ask you something, man?" Ryder asked, sitting down directly opposite of Blaine. He rolled his eyes, but nodded his head anyway signaling that Ryder was allowed to speak. "Do you believe me?"

"No." Blaine shook his head, narrowing his eyes. Ryder nodded his head slowly but didn't get up like Blaine had thought he would.

"You saw me get into the passenger's seat though." Ryder mumbled. "You were _there_. You know the type of person my dad is. You have heard me complain about him for _years. _How can you even begin to believe him over me? We were best friends."

"You were jealous of me." Blaine responded sharply. "Don't even deny it. You had crap for parents and you wanted mine. You had no love life but I had found the love _of_ my life. You were jealous."

Ryder nodded his head slightly with an annoyed chuckle. "Yeah. I was. But I'm not anymore."

"Yeah because you have Marley while I have a grave." Blaine muttered as he turned to glare at the kid who was across from him. "Congratulations. You finally got what you wanted."

"No." Ryder answered simply, licking his lips and standing up. "I may have a jackass for a dad and a mom who would rather look the other way than cause problems but at least through all of that, I'm still _me._ Can you say the same?"

Blaine was about to rebuttal but Ryder was already down the hallway and storming off around a corner. Rolling his eyes, Blaine got to his feet, feeling slightly lightheaded. In spite of that, he continued to walk towards Will's office which thankfully wasn't too far away. He threw the door open, causing Will to look up at him surprised.

"Hey Blaine." He offered a warm smile, putting his pen down to give the boy his full attention. "What can I do you for?"

"I want to testify in the case." Blaine responded, nodding his head to give himself more confidence.

Will smiled and motioned for the boy to sit down in one of the seats across from him. "That's great Blaine. I'm happy that you want to help Ryder. I mean, I know it was hard for you to…"

"No." Blaine interrupted shaking his head. "I want to serve as a witness to the accident. The one Ryder was driving during."

Will regained his composure slightly and nodded his head. "I want you to think about this Blaine."

"I already have."

"If you do this, you're ruining that boy's life." Will continued, looking at him sternly.

"If I don't, then I'm watching him ruin his dad's." Blaine wasn't able to understand why everyone was taking Ryder's side in this.

Will stood up and walked towards the door, opening it as he turned to look at Blaine. "I want you to spend the rest of the day thinking about _why_ you're doing this. Is it because you truly believe it's the right thing to do or is it for revenge?"

Blaine scoffed and shook his head. "Why does _everyone_ like Ryder more than me? I mean, when I first met Kurt he had a crush on Ryder. My dad _loves_ Ryder. The school loves Ryder. The entire fucking town loves Ryder. No one even cares about me."

"There are a lot of people who care about you Blaine. I care about you." Will said softly. "But you don't even need people to care about you because _you_ love you. Ryder doesn't love Ryder."

"Oh please." Blaine scoffed, crossing his arms with another shake of the head. "Ryder _loves_ himself. He's basically God back home."

Will shook his head. "You're forgetting to use the past tense. He _was_ popular. People _did_ like him. He watched all of that fade when he let his dad blame him for something he didn't do."

"You weren't there, though!" Blaine screamed, standing up and clenching his fists. He wasn't going to hit the guy, it was just a coping mechanism he had learned. It helped relieve his stress. "You don't _know_ who was driving the car!"

"You're right." Will nodded his head, with a distant look on his face. "But do you?"

Blaine shut his eyes while nodding his head slowly. He was lying though. He didn't have a solid memory. Between the alcohol and the head injury he had suffered, the entire night was a blur. When he woke up, he was told Ryder was driving and so he had just imagined a reality in which Ryder had been driving the car. Now, as Will was pestering him about it, he wasn't sure if the memory was real or fake.

"Do you really want to risk lying under oath?" Will tested, opening the door once more and leading Blaine out of his office. "Just think about it. Alright?"

Blaine nodded and pulled the sweatshirt he was wearing closer to his body. He watched as Will walked down the hall towards Emma and some lady with brunette hair. Biting his lip, he turned and walked in the direction of the lounge but he stopped when he saw Ryder and Marley enter the room. She was smiling at something he said while he held the door open for him.

Ryder turned to see if anyone was following so he could hold the door open for them, an act that made the girls at their school swoon. Their eyes met and Ryder smiled a little, making Blaine irritated. No matter what the circumstances, Ryder always _seemed_ happy.

It was Ryder's front. Something that made people stop asking if he was alright. He learned it in elementary school when teachers would pick on him for being sad. Eventually he just learned that if you smiled, people stopped wondering so he wouldn't be forced to tell them what was wrong.

Marley looked up at Ryder and saw him looking at Blaine with a smile she knew was fake. She could tell because it was a smile she had sported for years to avoid her aunt asking questions. Tugging on his arm slightly, she smiled when he looked at him.

"Come on." She said, dragging him into the room. He smiled and allowed her to lead him towards the couch where they were going to watch a movie with Jake and Sam. Blaine watched as the door slammed shut, hiding the two from view.

"Fucking asshole." He muttered in detest as he turned to walk towards the cafeteria. Food sounded better than hanging out with everyone else anyway.

**I'm with Blaine on that one. Food is a lot better than friends, especially Nutella! That stuff is the best. I'm running out of time in the day and I've been trying to finish this for a while but I kept getting distracted by the perfection that is Tumblr. **

**Thanks to: **

**Crest of Glee: **Thanks for the comment! I didn't do my physics homework. Oh well. My teacher is the worst anyway. I hope your week was awesome!

**Bri Deene/Guest: **I want Ryley to be end game sooooo bad. Yeah, I'm not sure if I like Betty being a bitch either. I mean, at least not to Artie. He's my fave. :) Haha Yeah. If I were Ryder I would have screamed my head off. :P

**PandaChubz31: **THANKS! I love YOU! :)

**Sara/Guest: **NOOOO! Don't miss your swim meet for this! Lol. I feel soo bad now. Oh my gosh. Yeah, I didn't really like writing for Marley so much. I honestly don't even know where to start responding to this. I hope Ryley will be cute after the testimony too. I actually kinda hope they can be happy before the testimony but I kinda have the habit of ruining things for them. :P I love Jake and Sam… even though I don't really like Jake right now. At least not in this chapter. Ha! I will never have fun with physics.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Haha. Well that sounds fun. IT'S SO COOL THAT YOU LIVE IN ENGLAND! I've been there. My dad is British. Some of my family lives near Liverpool… I think. I'm pretty sure anyway. I loved him in 'I Do'. He made me cry and smile and he was just adorable.

**Hannah/Guest: **My friend cut herself for a while so I kind of understood the situation. It's a scary thing to deal with and I'm sorry you ever felt like that was one of your options. Thanks so much. It means a lot for you to say that. :)

**Guest-B: **Hey girl! I need more episodes with Mike in it. He literally makes my life. He should have been in the Naked episode because that would have been heaven. Lol. I could not do that. My word. I live for my mental health days. I love writing the cute parts for Ryley. They make my life. :) FEEL BETTER!

**TotalGleek16: **I always fake sick. I can't afford to feel guilty about it. Lol. RYLEY IS PERFECT! Sorry, I just get so excited. I'm so upset that we have to wait two more weeks for another episode. I need to know what happens. NEED. We could totally be best friends because I LOVE peanut butter. You should totally try Skippy creamy 25% less fat. Sounds like it'd be gross but it's sooooooo good. Oh and thanks for the review lol.

**Reflections of Twilight: **Hmm… I guess she could be on her period. She is totally acting like she is. Oh my gosh! That would be hysterical! I would literally pay to see her deliver her baby during dance class. That would be so funny.

**Iheartart13: **I'M A ROMANTIC TOO! Omg. I love when I get to write them being cute with each other. It makes me smile. I like Jake though… ad I kinda like him with Marley. I just LOVE Ryder with Marley. Ryder deserves her.

**Iluvwillschuester: **No. The batman wasn't actors. It was a cartoon and it was so stupid. I was just confused. His dad is a jerk face and you'll find that out for yourself when you meet him in a few chapters. I'm excited for that drama. Haha. Did the flamingo eat the silly putty!? Oh my goodness. Lol. Yeah, my brother is an idiot. Thanks for the comment!

**So, sorry for the typos and all of the other errors. It turns out, I'm running out of hours in Saturday so I have to post this now and I'm just exhausted. I want all of you to have an amazing rest of the weekend, even though I'll be bored with homework. **

**ENJOY YOUR SCHOOL WEEK! …. Or at least **_**try**_** to make it through alive. **


	21. Chapter 21

Kitty laid on the bed, with a light blue blanket draped over her. She couldn't see it, but she was sure her hair was messy. Slowly, she reached up towards where her head was resting and tried to hardest to smooth it out. The white walls of the room she was in was really starting to give her a headache, but what was worse was the beeping coming from the machine next to her.

"Welcome back." Someone said cheerfully and as Kitty looked around she saw a man standing over her in a white coat. He wasn't ugly but he was old enough to be her dad so she suppressed the giddiness that would normally follow seeing a male surgeon paying attention to her. "You were out for three days."

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say but by the way he was staring at her, she assumed he wanted her to say something. "Oh."

"We're going to keep you here for a couple of days and get you in touch with one of our hospital psychiatrists." He informed her, looking down at the clip board he was holding for a couple of seconds. "Would you prefer talking to a woman or a man?"

Kitty weighed the pros and cons of her choices. With a man, she'd feel judged and inferior but maybe that was what she needed. Plus, women were proven to be more judgmental right? But still, a woman was more nurturing.

"I don't care." She whispered, coming to the conclusion that she was going to be broken no matter who she talked to.

"Well alright. I'll send Dr. Marvis in as soon as she's finished filling your counselor back at your rehabilitation center and your parents." He reached down and patted her back with a smile on his face. "I know you feel like everything that's happening now is the worst moments of your life, but trust me, in college _everything_ is worse."

As he left the room, she scrunched her eyebrows wondering if he was simply trying to tell a joke or whether he was giving her some sort of advice. Was he trying to get her to want to commit suicide? She wasn't sure and she shuddered at the thought of her death.

Contrary to popular belief, she didn't cut because she was suicidal. She cut because it was the only way she knew she was alive. When your world is filled with as much negativity as hers is, you become numb to experiences that would once make you cry. Cutting caused physical pain, a reminder that she could in fact _feel_ something.

A knock on the door shattered the silence like a baseball colliding with glass. "Hi Kitty. My name is Sharon Marvis and I'm here to talk to you for a little."

"Hi." Kitty said softly, grabbing some of her blanket between her fingers to distract her from the embarrassment she knew she'd feel eventually.

"You're 16?" Kitty nodded her head and stared down at her hands. "And do you know why you have to talk to me?"

"Yeah." She muttered distastefully. "I'm not an idiot. I know what I did was wrong and you think I must be an idiot or an attention whore but I'm not. I didn't ask Marley to find me and I didn't ask to be shoved into the back of an ambulance."

"I don't think you're an attention whore." The woman spoke softly, reaching over to grab ahold of one of Kitty's hands. "I think you're upset and need to find a healthier way of dealing with your feelings. That's why I'm here."

As Kitty sat on her bed, waiting for time to pass so she could spend the time by herself, Marley sat at the cafeteria table waiting for Ryder and Sam to come back from grabbing something to eat. She was drumming her fingers on the table and playing Angry Birds when someone sat across from her. She looked up to see Blaine sitting across from her with a smile on his face.

"Hi Blaine." She greeted, pushing her phone away so she could give him the attention he clearly wanted. "What's up?"

"He's lying you know." He muttered, the smile still on his face. Marley's smile fell as she raised her eyebrows slightly. This was not the direction she had assumed the conversation would go in.

She coughed a little and scratched her forehead before leaning forward with an interested look on her face. "And you're telling me this why?"

"You've obviously fallen for him and I just want you to know that you're making a mistake."

"I uh… I what?" She asked, trying to comprehend what he had just said. Sure, she like Ryder but she wasn't _falling _for him, was she? Yeah, sometimes she couldn't help but smile if he was smiling and sure, she even stayed up sometimes at night thinking about him. But that was normal.

"Look, Marley. I just want you to be careful." Blaine responded smiling slightly.

"Uh… I'm sorry but weren't you drunk when the accident happened?" Marley asked, cocking her head to the side as Blaine frowned for a couple of seconds.

"Well yeah but…"

"And didn't you have some sort of head injury?" She interrupted, leaning back against the chair again. As he nodded, she smiled a little. "Then I don't understand how you think you know more about what happened than he did."

"Mr. Lynn was there and _he _remembers." Blaine mumbled once he regained his composure. "And I'm going to prove it to all of you who believe that liar."

As he stood up and began walking away, Ryder sat down and stared after him confused. "What did he want?"

"He's still convinced you're lying." Marley noted, grabbing a French fry from Ryder's tray. He nodded his head and smiled a little before putting a French fry in his mouth as well. "I told him he's wrong."

"You don't know that I'm not lying." He challenged smirking as she frowned slightly.

"You're right." She finally admitted, taking a sip of the soda he had gotten for her. "But I believe you."

They sat there and ate as Will watched from the other side of the cafeteria. He wasn't liking it at all. He had been in the situation before so he knew not to be as naïve as he was before. Sure, they looked cute and they helped each other but making unstable people grow fond of each other only led to problems later.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked, startling him which made her laugh a little.

He shook his head but allowed a smile to cross his face. "We have to watch them."

Emma furrowed her eyebrows but softened them when she saw Will looking at Ryder and Marley. She sighed and shook her head. "Will, they're not having sex."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Will argued, turning back to look at his wife and coworker. "Although, that can't happen either."

"You want them to stop being friends?" Emma asked, cocking her head to the side. That didn't make any sense to her. "Because I'm pretty sure that when life crumbles around you, friends are one of the only things that help."

"They can't become more than friends." Will pressed, licking his lips. "That can't happen again, Emma."

"Ryder and Marley aren't Rachel and Finn." Emma soothed, rubbing Will's back in a comforting manner. He shook her off, afraid that with that simple touch, she'd convince him to stop worrying. "They're different people, Will."

"They're _good_ kids."

"Hey, Mr. Schue." Blaine interrupted, walking up to them with a smile on his face. Will pushed his previous thoughts to the side and smiled at the boy.

"Have you come to a decision yet?" Will asked.

"Not exactly." Blaine admitted before taking a breath. "That's actually what I wanted to ask you about. You see, I think it'd be easier for me to decide if…"

Blaine was cut off by the sound of Will's pager going off. Despite what had happened with Kitty, Will shushed the boy and looked at his beeper. He shut his eyes for a longer period than normal as he looked up frustrated. As he opened them, his eye locked on Blaine's, who was looking a little guilty.

"You should have asked me first." Will mentioned before starting to walk towards the cafeteria doors. "This isn't a good idea."

Marley watched as Will practically ran out of the cafeteria, and as she watched him, Ryder watched her with a small smile on his face. Shaking her head, she turned back towards Ryder. "What are you looking at?"

He blushed and looked down at his plate. "Nothing."

She looked at him doubtfully before shaking her head to rid the thought. "Your turn." She said with a smile.

He groaned and shook his head at her. "I hate this game."

"I don't care."

"Fine, I pick… truth."

"What's your favorite movie?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

He thought for a second before a serious look fell upon his face. "Twilight."

She laughed a little before stopping when she realized he wasn't laughing along. "Wait, are you serious?"

"Not at all." He mumbled with a smile on his face. "I don't know. Probably Iron Man or something."

She nodded her head with a small smile on her face as she allowed the information to sink in. Iron Man. She could work with that. "Alright, my turn. Dare."

He chuckled darkly before a cynical smirk found its way to his face. "I dare you to…"

Before he could finish the sentence, the cafeteria door was being slammed open. Marley gasped as she saw someone she had never seen before looking angrily in their direction. Ryder, surprised with how quiet the cafeteria had gotten, turned around too. As he took in the man's appearance, his face paled. To say he looked pissed would be an understatement.

Ryder stood up suddenly, still a little shocked with what was happening.

"Dad?"

**So there's chapter 21. I love you all for commenting. It makes me so happy to get those emails and I can't say that enough. So… Mr. Lynn is in the house! Uh oh. I'd write more but I'm honestly failing physics. I have a 67 and that's just not ok. So now I have to study. **

**Thanks to: **

**Sara/Guest: **When in doubt, blame traffic. Works like a charm. :) YOU'RE a sweetheart… even though you are never on Tumblr. :P I'm sure you're awesome at EVERYTHING! I love Jake too. Haha, you're fine. You can comment whenever you want :) I love you regardless of when you comment.

**Bri Deene/Guest: **Nutella is amazing! Yeah, I'm not sure if I like her character but I love her as a person. :) Hmm…. My favorite characters are… oh gosh this is hard. I'd have to say Kurt, Finn, Sue, Brittany, Sam, Puck, Jake, Marley, and Ryder. I also really like Will and Emma though. What about you?

**Pandachubz31: **Yay! :D

**MiggieMoo2014: **I love your username so much. :) THANK YOU! You're so sweet!

**Serendipulous: **Patience, my friend ;). YES! SCORE!

**Reflections of Twilight: **Ew and then what if people slipped on it. Oh my gosh… the disgusting images in my head right now…

**xxEllieJellyxx: **That's awesome! That convenient store is called Spar right? When I visit, I practically live in that store haha. :) You can come live with me in Pennsylvania. It's kinda boring though. Yes! We will find out more about Kitty's bulimia/self-harm. HER HAIR WAS SO PERFECT! I'm so jealous of it! I don't like Brody… There's just something about him I hate. Maybe it's the fact I like Finn better.

**Iluvwillschuester: **Just you wait… you're really going to hate Blaine in the next couple chapters. Haha, I cried a little typing it. I was just like "Aw Ryder! Love yourself!" haha. I am honored that when you see Troy and Gabriella you think of me. That makes my day. Dude, that's literally my childhood you're watching. :P

**Hannah/Guest: **Thanks so much! Thanks for commenting :)

**Guest-B: **I LOVE MIKE CHANG! He would have been great in that entire episode. He'd be awesome in any episode though. I miss him. I'm really mad that they show Rachel all the time but none of the other characters get much of a story line. It bothers me. I hope you weren't too tired on Monday after not sleeping! I could never do that. You need new taste buds because Nutella is awesome. Thanks for the comment.

**Iheartart13: **Thanks! :) I'm so happy you think that. It's really hard writing from everyone's POV. I was just going to write from Marley's originally but that didn't work out… :)

**TotalGleek16: **I MISS GLEE TOO! This hiatus sucks so much! I LOVE Peanut butter apples. Oh gosh it's amazing. You should try a bagel with PB and banana on it. That is literally fantastic. Thanks so much! I feel bad for Ryder too. :)

**Thanks to everyone who reads and I encourage you to comment because I love talking to you all. :) So I'm going to go study some Physics and you guys should PM me if you understand that class at all. I'm pretty much completely stupid when it comes that this class. BUUUUUTTTT I'm also going to be watching New Girl because I love Nick and Jess and nothing you say can change that. :)**


	22. Chapter 22

Marley sat with her back against the wall as she listened to the voices yelling from inside. Mr. Lynn was yelling at Ryder and Will was yelling at Mr. Lynn for yelling at Ryder and Ryder was yelling at Will for yelling at Mr. Lynn for yelling at him. She was going insane.

"You can't make up lies!" She heard Mr. Lynn scream which made her roll her eyes. That's basically all he was saying and he kept repeating it over and over again.

As if on cue, Mr. Schuester screamed "He's not the one who's lying!"

And then, of course, Ryder followed with a "Stop yelling!"

Marley looked down at her hands and then across the hallway to see Blaine standing with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. She wanted to walk over and scream at him, maybe even slap him, but her thoughts were interrupted by a statement that made her sick to her stomach.

"I should have let your mother get that abortion." Mr. Lynn yelled and Marley's heart broke. Within seconds, the door was swinging open and Ryder walked out with a frown on his face. He slammed the door behind him and as he walked down the hallway with Marley trailing after him, Will and Mr. Lynn continued to scream at each other.

"Ryder, wait." Marley urged, speeding up so she was jogging after him. He turned towards her quickly and she bumped into him. "Ouch."

"Wait for what?" He asked, his voice giving off the impression he was annoyed with her. She licked her lips and took a step away from him, looking down at her feet before waiting for him to continue his meltdown. "Wait to be told my parents don't _want_ me? Wait to have this judge tell me that I'm lying? Wait for Mr. Schue to realize that I'm just a loser like everyone says?"

"But Ryder…"

"No, Marley!" Ryder snapped, running his hands through his hair out of aggravation. "I'm tired of waiting for somebody to care."

"I care." Marley interrupted. "Why don't you just _understand_ that? I'm here! I care!"

Ryder looked down at her and took a few deep breaths before running his hand through her hair and pushing her lightly against the wall. Seconds later, to Marley's satisfaction, he bent over and crashed his lips against hers. They moved effortlessly against each other before Ryder pulled away and looked at her guiltily.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, stepping back.

She shook her head and smiled. "Don't be." She responded before taking a step towards him and connecting their lips once again.

"Get a room." Jake grumbled, grabbing both of their shoulders and pulling them away from each other. "I don't need to see that."

"Says the one who practically rapes people in the lunch room." Sam said, coming up to them with a smile on his face. Ryder watched as Marley tensed at Sam's choice of words. He grabbed her hand in an effort to comfort her.

"Oh, give it a rest." Jake muttered tiredly, running his hand through his hair. "So what's going on with your dad? And Blaine?"

Ryder licked his lips. "I'm testifying against my dad and he's here because he wants to be an ass and well Blaine… he's a little pissed off at me."

"Wait…." Sam started, his mind spinning in endless circles. "Why are you testifying against your dad?"

As Ryder tried his best to explain the situation, Kitty laid in her bed and stared at the walls wishing she could be staring at the walls of her own bedroom. She'd even settle for the walls of the bedroom at the rehab center. Anything would be better than here.

"How are you feeling?" The doctor who had spoken to her earlier asked as he walked into the room looking at his clipboard. She wanted to roll her eyes but somehow that didn't seem appropriate seeing as he could have been the one to save her life. So instead, she put on her usual fake smile and shrugged her shoulders. "That's good to hear. Are you feeling up to having a visitor?"

She perked up and nodded her head, intrigued with the thought of someone wanting to visit her. If it were her mom, she'd have a cake with her. Kitty smiled at the thought. Or maybe her dad had called off work to come and see how she was. He was always so busy and any time he could spend with her made the girl happy.

"Hi Kitty." Emma said with a smile on her face as she entered the room. Doctor whatever left the room as Kitty slumped back down, the disappointment too much for her to handle. "How are you feeling?"

She wanted to scream, to fight, to do _something_ but her self-control was at an all-time high. Instead, she put another one of her fake smiles one and made herself a little more comfortable. "They've given me drugs so I'm feeling _great."_

Emma knew she wasn't lying for she had too been in that bed before, not that exact one but a hospital bed just the same. "I mean emotionally not physically."

Her smile faltered slightly but even though Kitty tried to hide it, Emma noticed it immediately. The blonde coughed slightly as Emma made her way over to sit in the chair that was conveniently located next to the bed. "Why would I tell _you?" _

"Because I'm here for you." Emma pressed softly, reaching over to grab the girl's hand. It pained Emma to know that someone else was going through this but she kept the small smile on her face in an attempt to comfort her. "And I want you know that you _can_ talk to me. There are lots of different ways of coping with stress. It's my job to show you what they are."

"That's what the psychiatrist said." Kitty mumbled softly, looking down at her hands. She took a deep breath before saying, "I'm not crazy, you know."

"I know." Emma insisted, nodding her head. "You're just lost and confused. Let me help you, Kitty."

Back at the rehab center, Will and Mr. Lynn had stopped arguing long enough to realize that neither of them was capable of convincing the other to admit their mistakes. Each of them men was going to believe what they wanted and that was that. Will walked into the lounge and stopped when he saw the four teenagers watching a movie together. Ryder had his head in Marley's lap and his feet in Sam's. Jake was on the floor leaning against the foot of the couch. Each of them looked so engrossed in the movie, he wasn't sure if they'd even notice him if he hit each of them on the head.

"Hey guys." Will greeted, walking to stand in front of the television. Jake scoffed before pressing the pause button on the remote. "What are you watching?"

"Well we _were_ watching 'The Amazing Spiderman'." Jake muttered, his eyes narrowed in Will's direction. Ryder licked his lips and looked up at the man who looked to be severely pissed off about something. He assumed it had something to do with his dad.

Marley sensed this too, so she decided to speak up about something off topic. "Do you know when Kitty's getting home?"

The thought of Kitty made Ryder's face pale slightly as did Will's. "Her doctor said sometime tomorrow if everything goes well. We will just have to wait for Emma to get back."

"Ms. Pillsbury is at the hospital?" Jake asked, his curiosity distracting him from the fact he was no longer watching the movie. "Why couldn't we go?"

Will sighed and shook his head. "You'll see her tomorrow. Ryder, I need to talk to you as soon as you finish your movie."

Ryder nodded his head in spite of the fact it was still resting in Marley's lap. As Will walked away, he was sure that Marley was running her hands through the boy's hair. He bit his tongue to keep from freaking out and walked out of the room. Right now, they were fine. It was later he'd have to worry.

"Do you think he's going to ask you to clean his office?" Sam asked, turning to look in Ryder's direction.

Ryder furrowed his eyebrows as he shook his head. "I don't really think he can do that. He might get in trouble like that woman in Annie did."

"You mean to tell me that you watched that movies?" Marley asked surprised as she looked down at him. He blushed slightly and bit his lip. "Even though it's about a little _girl_ who practically gets abused by her dad and principal?"

"Actually, that's Matilda. I'm talking about Annie." Ryder argued back. He would have denied it all together but she'd be able to tell if he was lying.

"I honestly hate that you know that, man." Jake muttered, turning around so he could frown at the boy.

Ryder shook his head and licked his lips. "My little sister _made_ me."

"That's not what she told me last night." Sam snickered, stifling his laughter as Ryder sat up to glare at him. He stopped when Ryder hit him lightly in the back of the head.

"She's eight, man." Ryder shook his head before lying back down on Marley's lap. "Put the movie back on."

"So bossy." Marley teased as she reached down for the remote. She pressed play and for the time the movie was on, all seemed to be right in the world.

Unfortunately, movies were just depictions of what people _wanted_ life to be. They had a way of taking you from your reality where spider man was just a character, and putting you into a new world where _anything_ was possible. People got hurt in movies, but it was rare that the main character died. And as the four kids sat there, completely engrossed in the love story between Gwen and Peter, Bradley Lynn and Blaine were scheming.

But for those two hours, all _seemed_ right in the world.

**I apologize profusely for not updating yesterday. I was half way done writing this when my friend's mom called and told me my friend was in the hospital. I am seriously **_**so**_ **sorry and I hope you'll forgive me. Also, I won't be updating this on Wednesday because I'm swamped with pretty much anything you could think of. **

**Thanks so much for understanding and I'm really sorry if you don't. **

**Thanks to: **

**Popcorn0912: **I especially want to apologize to you because you asked me yesterday if I would be posting and I told you I would be. I hope I added enough Ryley cuteness for you in this chapter.

**Guest-B: **Yeah… but I love Kurt so I can't even complain about him. Rachel bothers me sometimes and recently Blaine has been bothering me. He just… I don't know. I just haven't really liked him that much in recent episodes. I just want an ENTIRE episode dedicated to Mike. Well, I congratulate you on making it through the day without sleeping. I wouldn't be able to do that. Haha awww thanks. :) It means so much to hear you say that. :)

**Iheartart13: **I loved bio! I can't stand Chem and Physics is even worse. :P Hahahaha. Thanks! I believe in you too! You're sweeter for always commenting. I just appreciate everyone who reads this so much. I feel like I _have_ to reply. :) Thanks for commenting and I'm sorry for the wait.

**Bri Deene: **I used to hate Santanna and then I loved her and I don't think I like her very much right now. Don't ask me why because I have absolutely no idea. I love Kurt and Brittany and Sam and Tina and Artie. I practically love EVERYBODY on that show. Thanks for commenting.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **They SHOULD have gotten married and I'm so upset they didn't. I don't watch PLL. I started to but then I kept forgetting to record it. I love Spar sooo much. Tell you what, you come live here and I'll go live in England. Deal?

**Hannah/Guest: **haha thanks so much for commenting and I'm sorry I made you wait.

**Reflections of Twilight: **No I didn't get it from Iris but OMG thanks so much for that. I literally love that song so much. Actually, maybe I did but it was totally subconsciously if I did.

**TotalGleek16: **Seriously, it's the best thing ever. Haha. Yeah… Mr. Bradley Lynn will be making quite the appearance in the next couple of chapters. :)

**PandaChubz31: **I'm sorry for the cliffhanger… and then for making you wait even longer. I just HAD to. Haha. You'll find out about Finn and Rachel eventually. :) Thanks for commenting.

**Thanks again to everyone who commented and who reads this. And once again, I'm so sorry for not updating when I promised to yesterday. **

**On a brighter note… Glee is on this week which is totally exciting. I missed it so much. :) Enjoy your week and remember, I'm not updating on Wednesday this week. :)**


	23. Chapter 23

Ryder walked down the hallway towards Mr. Schue's office. He was nervous; afraid Mr. Schue stopped believing in him like his father wanted. There was no part of him that didn't want to turn around and avoid the terrible feeling that would follow when Will told him that he wasn't who he thought he was. However, there was a girl holding his hand leading him down the hall and he didn't want to disappoint her.

"It'll be just fine." Marley soothed, putting her head against his arm as they continued to walk forward. Ryder shook his head of his negative thoughts and looked down at her with a small smile on his face. "I promise."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Ryder responded, letting go of her hand in order to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She giggled a little before resting her head on his chest as she wrapped her arm around his back. "Hey Marley?"

"Yeah?" She asked, tilting her head up to look up at him. He looked nervous but she assumed it was because he didn't want to talk to Mr. Schuester.

"Do you think… I mean, would you want to…" He stopped walking and sighed, pushing her gently away so he could look her in the eyes. "Do you maybe want to uh… you know… I just…"

"There you are, Ryder!" Will breathed out as he turned the corner. "I've been looking for you. We really need to talk."

"Oh uh…" Ryder began, coughing awkwardly. He was now not only frustrated with himself, but now he could add Mr. Schue to that list. "Right. I uh… Yeah." He turned back towards Marley who was looking at him expectantly. "So I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah." She breathed out with a smile on her face. "Good luck."

She watched as he followed Mr. Schue down the hall with his hands on his head as if he was frustrated. She giggled a little as she turned to wave at her just as he rounded the corner. Turning, she saw Blaine approaching her quickly with an annoyed look on his face.

"Can I help you?" Marley asked, once Blaine stopped directly in front of her.

Blaine looked at her sadly before handing a silver piece of technology to her. She recognized it immediately as Ryder's phone. Furrowing her eyebrows, she took the phone from him and smiled a little. "That's Ryder's."

"Yeah. I'll give it to him. Thanks." She mumbled, sliding it into her pocket and walking past him. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back around. She tensed immediately but he didn't seem to care. "Please don't touch me."

"Look at the texts." He responded, pointing to the phone in her back pocket. She shook her head and bit her lip. "He's been texting someone."

"I don't believe you."

"Look, I'm just trying to look out for you." He answered, annoyed with her lack of trust in him. "Just look at them. You'll see I'm telling the truth… again."

He walked away and she watched him go. Reaching back, she felt the phone in her pocket and was a little frustrated that she had to fight herself not to read what was inside. That would be an invasion of privacy and she was not in the mood to be an obsessive girl. But as she bit her lip, she felt her fingers begin to succumb to the pressure and the phone was once again out of her pocket and in her hands. Looking around, she opened the phone and read the first text message on the screen.

**From Katie: **_I miss you baby. Xx_

Marley could feel the tears start to threaten, but she shook them away. Just because she missed him didn't mean it had to be the other way around. So she pressed the arrow and was shocked to see his response.

**From Ryder: **_I miss you too. Hopefully I'll be back soon. Love you. _

Angrilly, she slammed the phone shut and stalked down the hallway towards the lounge. She needed chocolate and she needed it now.

Ryder sat in Will's office nodding his head. "Thanks, Mr. Schue." He muttered with a small smile on his face. For once, everything seemed to be fitting together. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." Will responded, smiling at the boy as well. He had called him in to go over the case so he could tell Cynthia everything she needed to know.

"Well, it's more of a favor." Ryder elaborated, licking his lips and rubbing his hands against his pants. "Do you think we could go on a field trip or something?"

"Field trip?"

"Well yeah. A lot of us are really bored and I…" Ryder started before shaking his head. "I just kinda want to take Marley somewhere other than the cafeteria to sneak food once the kitchen closes."

"That's _you?_" Will asked and Ryder mentally kicked himself in the ass. "We thought it was that Johnny kid down the hall." Ryder nodded his head hopefully, hoping that his honesty would earn him some points. "I'll try."

"Try?"

"Yeah. Contrary to what you think, I don't actually call the shots here. I'm just one of the therapists here. You know that."

Ryder nodded his head and stood up. As he opened the door, he turned around. "Hey Mr. Schue?" Will looked over at him and waited for him to continue. "For what it's worth, I'm really glad I got you for my therapist and not one of the other guys." As he shut the door behind him, Will smiled to himself. That's all he wanted.

As he walked out of the room, he caught a glimpse of her auburn hair walking in the opposite direction down the hall. He couldn't see her face but something about the way she was moving indicated that she was pissed off about something. Biting his lip and rolling his eyes slightly, he walked off after her calling her name every so often. She continued to ignore him until finally she turned around with a look of pure hatred cast upon her features.

"What?" She snapped, crossing her arms. Furrowing his eyebrows, he cleared his throat awkwardly before licking his lips. "_Well_?" She pestered, gazing up at him with annoyance. She sighed when he remained silent, too stunned to form proper words. "Look, _Ryder, _I don't really have time for this. You're a _jerk."_

As she turned around and started stomping in the direction of the café, he couldn't help but agree with her. What he didn't understand, though, is why she was just realizing this now. She had clearly seen how much of a jerk he was when she first met him and it didn't appear to be much of a problem.

"What just happened?" He whispered to himself, turning around to walk in the opposite direction as her. If there was one thing he learned about girls it was that you don't follow after them when they're too pissed off to make sense.

Blaine watched the encounter with a proud smile on his face. It seemed that without Marley guiding him, Ryder was just like everyone else. With Marley, though, Ryder was extraordinary, just like he had been back home. He pulled out his phone and ran through his contact list, picking out a certain name to send a text to.

**To Katie: **Hey, have you talked to Ryder recently?

Of course Blaine already knew the answer. The two stopped talking once Ryder left McKinley to come here but Blaine remembered her saying that she felt out of the loop. He hadn't told her he was leaving. And he certainly didn't mention this place. Although all of this was true, Blaine knew the simple question would spark an interest in the girl and she'd _have_ to text him to see how he was doing.

It was in her nature.

Feeling accomplished, he turned on his heel and walked down the hallway in the direction Marley had gone. He'd play the sympathetic friend, which would evidently drive Ryder insane. He may be acting as if he had no problem with Blaine, but Blaine knew differently. It was obvious that Ryder was plotting to somehow backstab him like he had the night of the accident. Blaine didn't know how but he knew it was coming. The only way to prevent it was to beat Ryder at his own game.

And he knew just the way to do it.

Ryder walked through the doors of the lounge some time later and made his way over to her. She seemed to be more relaxed, or at least she did before he sat down across from her. He scrunched his eyebrows as she scoffed and turned her head towards Blaine. He wasn't sure why or what they had been talking about, but whatever it was Ryder assumed it wasn't going to help his chances with her.

"Hey." He mumbled when the other two continued to ignore him. The silence wasn't annoying him so much as the fact that it wasn't just a normal silence; it was like the sole purpose of it was to get under Ryder's skin. He hated to admit that it was working. "What's going on?"

"That's _exactly_ what Katie said." Marley spat, her face flushed as she whipped her head around to stare accusingly at him. His face paled and he swallowed nervously, turning to face Blaine.

"You told her about Katie?" He asked, his eyes narrowing into a glare as Blaine smirked at him. Ryder wasn't even sure why the kid seemed to have an agenda against him. Sure, he had _accidentally_ killed his boyfriend but that didn't seem to be the reason behind anything anymore.

Marley reached into her pocket and pulled something out, but he couldn't see what it was. "He didn't have to." She shoved a silver object at him and he realized it was his phone. Still confused, he reached over slowly and took his phone from her. What did his phone have to do with anything? They hadn't texted in months.

"But I haven't even…" He started but he was instantly cut off, which annoyed him more than he'd ever say.

"Oh cut the bullshit, Ryder." Marley muttered sadistically, shaking her head as she stood to her feet. "I don't even care that you have a girlfriend. What bothers me is that you _lied_ to me."

"I didn't…"

"Save your breath, Ryder." Marley cut him off again, as she pushed her chair in. "If that's even your name."

He rolled his eyes at her dramatics before standing as well. Reaching out to grab her arm before she walked away, he spun her around. "Just listen to me."

She looked like she was about to agree to his terms but before she could say anything, Blaine was standing to his feet and taking control of the situation. "Why should she have to listen to you? Your words are all just lies anyway."

Ryder growled in Blaine's direction as Marley yanked her arm away. "Are you joking me right now, Blaine?"

"I mean, who's to say that anything you say is the truth?" He continued, shrugging his shoulders dramatically. Marley bit her lip as she realized Blaine's angle. She was wondering why he was being so nice to her. "_I _wouldn't trust anything you had to say."

Ryder's face softened as he licked his lips. Honestly, he was surprised that Marley believed his story in the first place but it made him feel like _anyone_ would believe him. But now since he didn't tell her about his ex-girlfriend, she would never trust him again. He knew deep down that he didn't deserve her trust anyway.

"You weren't…" Ryder started but he was cut off by Will motioning him in his direction. Ryder sighed and shook his head, turning sadly to walk away.

Marley watched after him with a sad look on her face. Blaine could tell she was regretting causing a scene like he had suggested but at this point he didn't care. She could regret it all she wanted but what was done was done. Marley's lack of trust in Ryder was embedded in her. Everything he said, she'd question. And as for Ryder, he would probably beat himself up for a couple of weeks about it.

And for once, Blaine was on top and Ryder was left crumbling.

**So there you have it. Please review because it'd totally make me feel a lot better right now. Let's talk about Thursday's Glee because that was totally amazing. "Unchained Melody" was absolutely perfect and I'm a little upset too. You see, I really like Jake and I hate that he was so upset… made me sad. Anyway, Ryder, Sam, and Jake were amazing. And I loved Santanna. Oh, and when I saw Brody walk out of the room with money I totally thought 'male prostitute' not 'drug dealer' so… I'm a really bad guesser. Lol. Well PLEASE review and, as usual, thanks to:**

**Hannah/Guest: **Thanks so much for commenting! I love the Ryley too. :)

**xxEllieJellyxx: **I hope so too! England is absolutely amazing though! The accents and the fact that Jack and Finn live there from Youtube. They so hot! Why wouldn't you want to live there!? Thanks :)

**PandaChubz31: **Thanks so much for the review. You're amazing :)

**Guest-B: **Hahaha. Sorry I kept you waiting. (That totally sounded like a corny pick up line in an 80s movie). ;) Apparently Ryan is making the pregnancy so she can have a 'wake up call'. I just hate that she, Finn and Kurt graduated and are in EVERY episode. Where is Mike, Mercedes, Puck, Quinn, and Santanna? I miss them. The last episode was amazing. I hope you have an amazing rest of the weekend. :) And thanks SOOO much for the comment and the awesome feedback. You're awesome.

**TotalGleek16: **Thanks. I hope so too. :) Haha. Yeah… I don't really like Mr. Lynn. I want to punch him too, trust me.

**Reflections of Twilight: **Iris is my favorite song by the Goo Goo Dolls. I honestly listen to it every day. Haha, thanks for the lovely comment. :)

**Iheartart13: **Thanks so much. You're so sweet and have no idea what that means to me. :) I loved Glee this week. The 'Unchained Melody' scene made me die. Thanks so much for commenting and being such an amazing person. I wish I knew you in real life so I could hug you.

**Bri Deene/Guest: **Haha. Gotcha. I know… I don't like Ryder's dad at all. He's such an ass. I absolutely love Spiderman. I feel bad for Rachel too but I really do think that it'll help with her ego. I mean, she really does need a wakeup call. I want it to be a boy too and I really hope it ends up being Finn's baby because I really don't like Brody. We'll see though. Thanks for commenting. :)

**Alright, so I'm not really sure if I'm going to be able to update on Wednesday. I'm going to try really hard to write the next chapter over the weekend but I can't promise anything. You can just wait and see or you can just check my tumblr and I'll post whether I'll post on there. Have an absolutely amazing week and I hope I can update on Wednesday. **

**You're all amazing! Oh and sorry for typos and misspellings and those types of things. **


	24. Chapter 24

"Hey Marley?" Ryder asked, walking up to her nervously. He figured that since it had been two whole days since they'd last talked, she might be a little less angry. Turns out he was wrong. She scoffed and turned back towards Blaine, who was sitting with his back against the couch and a tiny smile on his face. "Can… Can I talk to you?"

Blaine scoffed and leaned forward so Ryder was looking at him instead of Marley. "Why don't you just go bring your lies somewhere else, _Sam." _Blaine spat, making Sam look over at him with a frown on his face.

"Don't talk about Sam like that." Marley scolded the boy before looking over at Ryder. He was standing with his hands in his pocket and his eyes glued to the floor. It was the first time she had truly seen him nervous.

"Please Marls?" He pleaded, finally looking up at her. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair before nodding her head. He smiled but that soon faded when she pushed past him and walked to the other side of the room with her arms crossed.

"Well?" She tested as soon as he had reached her.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Katie." He mumbled, rubbing his hands together nervously. "I haven't talked to her since I left McKinley, probably even a little before that, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I just wanted you to know that." He finished, taking a breath before looking at her hopefully. "I mean, she texted me last night but I don't really understand why."

"How can you expect me to believe that?" She questioned, keeping her arms crossed even though she was giving in after each word he spoke.

"Because it's the truth!" He let out, before running his hand through his hair. "And because you know I'd never do that to you. I would _never_ hurt you, Marley. I can promise you that."

There was an awkward silence as Marley took in the information. Ryder stared at her with a hopeful expression but he knew in his gut he had lost her trust. Why in the world would she choose to trust him now? But as she looked up to smile at him, he sighed in relief.

"So…" She started, swaying back and forth slightly with a smile on her face. "Is Katie pretty?"

He smirked and pretended to think for a few seconds before shaking his head slowly. "Not as pretty as you." He responded smoothly, causing a giggle to be emitted from the brunette's mouth.

"Flattering me will not earn you any brownie points." She pointed out with a smile. He smirked while scratching the back of his head.

"So I convinced Mr. Schue to let us go on a fieldtrip." He informed her, rubbing his arm, which seemed to be a nervous tick for him. He'd never noticed it before. "And I was wondering if you wanted to… maybe go to a movie or something with me?"

She smiled before tilting her head to the side. "Like as a date?"

"No." He said too quickly before shutting his eyes and shaking his head. "Well… yeah."

"So… what are you saying?" She questioned, now slightly confused. He sighed before taking a deep breath.

"Yeah." He responded simply, taking note of her still confused looking face. "Like a date."

She smiled and nodded her head, stepping forward to hug him. "I would love to." Looking up, she smiled at him, crinkling her nose when his lips came in contact with her nose. She giggled and shook her head before turning to see Blaine stalking towards them.

"So you're just going to forget about everything he lied about?" He asked as soon as he reached them. Ryder looked at him questioningly before sighing and took a step back, away from Marley.

"Look Blaine, I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for what happened but just _stop._" Ryder mumbled, earning a roll of the eyes from Blaine. "Please."

"No." Blaine spat out, shaking his head. "You can't always get what you want."

"You think this is what I _want?_ Are you joking?" He breathed out, making Marley turn to look at him. Sam, too, turned around to see what was going on. "You think I wanted Kurt to die? You think I want to be in here? _Nobody_ wants to be here. It's not just you. You aren't the only one in here that hates themself."

"And why would I hate myself?" Blaine asked lowly trying his best to sound confident but his told a different story.

"Because you were there too and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't save him." Ryder mumbled slowly, slightly angry. He wasn't angry at Blaine, well not really. He was more pissed off with himself for bringing it up in the first place.

"Yeah, well I wasn't the one driving the car." Blaine challenged with a bite to his words, earning a glare from Marley that almost went unnoticed. Almost. Blaine turned towards her and growled, his eyes black from the anger coursing through his veins. "You think you know what happened? You weren't there! You're just some crazy bitch that he'll be done with in two weeks!"

Ryder narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists but remained surprisingly calm. He really didn't have much time to freak out anyway, seeing as Will butted into the conversation and pulled Blaine away from the two teenagers. Marley turned to look at Ryder who was about as red as a tomato.

"Calm down." She soothed, rubbing his back. "It's fine."

"No, it's not fine." He breathed out, turning towards her. She didn't seem to even care and that bothered him more than she would ever know.

"I'm used to it Ryder." She comforted, or at least tried to, but it didn't exactly work. "Don't worry about it."

"You shouldn't be." He muttered softly, shaking his head in disappointment. She sighed, knowing there was no convincing him otherwise. Truthfully, she was happy that she was used to people tearing her down. Now, she didn't have to cry.

"Hey Zac and Vanessa Juniors." A familiar voice said from behind them and they both turned around quickly with smiles on their faces. Marley was the first to run over and hug her before Ryder could even really comprehend what was going on. When the brunette pulled away, Kitty flashed them a smile. "Long time no see."

"I'm so happy you're back." Marley gushed, pulling the girl into another hug. Sam ventured over and wrapped his arms around both of them, pushing them even closer together. "Ouch."

"Sorry." He mumbled, slightly embarrassed before smiling proudly. "I guess all that working out made me stronger than the hulk."

"You wish." Ryder chuckled, taking his turn to hug Kitty.

Sam stopped smiling and frowned at Ryder for doubting him. "I've arm wrestled the hulk though. I won."

"Oh really?" Ryder smirked, turning when Jake came up behind him to greet Kitty too. "That's awesome."

"I know." Sam smiled, putting his hands to his sides and puffing his chest out so he resembled superman slightly. Marley laughed and shook her head before turning to face Kitty again.

"So how was it?" She asked, the smile that had been on her face disappearing. "What happened?"

"Did you die?" Sam interrupted and Ryder couldn't help but chuckle uncomfortably, remembering the blonde losing consciousness in his lap.

"_No._" Kitty replied, turning to give Sam a questioning look before turning back towards Marley. "It wasn't so bad. Emma visited me sometimes."

"Do you remember anything?" Jake asked, trying to remember where he was when all of this happened. All he could remember was the stretcher rolling past him and turning to see Marley and Ryder covered in blood. "Like the pain or anything?"

She shrugged, walking over toward the couch as the others followed her. "I mean, I remember Marley coming into the bathroom and then Ryder came into the bathroom too, which he shouldn't have because it was clearly the _girl's_ bathroom."

Ryder shrugged nonchalantly but his face was getting redder out of slight embarrassment. "Don't blame me. She was practically begging me to find her."

"I was not _begging." _Marley responded, turning towards him, which in turn sent her hair flying in Jake's direction. He ducked out of the way, smirking at his ninja skills. "I was screaming for _anyone_ to come and help."

Ryder shook his head, remembering a different situation entirely. "You were screaming 'Ryder'. Excuse me for thinking that meant me."

Marley opened her mouth to argue when Kitty interrupted. "Alright you two. Let's not get our panties in a twist."

"I don't even wear panties." Ryder muttered distastefully, his face twisting to match that of someone who had just taken a bite of something a little too sour for their liking.

"Well then why were you in the girl's bathroom?" Kitty teased, causing a groan to emit from Ryder's mouth. She smirked proudly and turned back towards Jake. "No, I don't really remember any pain."

Ryder and Jake looked up and across the room as Blaine walked into the room. He was about to approach the group but when his eyes landed on Ryder, he thought otherwise. The jealousy coursed through him, but he kept his composure this time. Jake sat up and looked towards Ryder expectantly.

Ryder knew what the other boy was telling him to do, but he couldn't help but to hesitate. Blaine was pissed off at him for apparently more than just the accident and Ryder was skeptical. It wasn't that he didn't know whether he could trust the boy. Sure, he'd done some things recently that would make Ryder question his reliability but he also knew that through his entire life Blaine had been the boy he'd rely on as a friend. He hoped that if push came to shove, Blaine would still be there for him. He just didn't want Blaine to do anything now that would ruin his date with Marley next weekend. That was more important to him than anything else right now and he'd be damned if he screwed that up.

Sighing, Ryder nodded his head at Jake, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Blaine who was now trying to find an empty table apart from them. "Yo man!" Jake screamed, startling Blaine slightly. "Come here."

"Jake-." Marley whispered, but she stopped because Ryder shook his head at her with a small smile on his face and Blaine had already made it to where they were sitting. "Hey Blaine."

"Sorry for calling you a bitch." He mumbled as he sat down on the floor next to Jake. Kitty turned towards him with a glare on her face.

"You called _her_ a bitch when you beat your best friend-." Kitty began to challenge, but before she could finish her thought, she was being interrupted.

"Kitty…" Ryder groaned. He had forgotten that Kitty knew and that it was the reason she had ended up hurting herself. Feeling sick just thinking about it, he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"So…" Sam dragged out awkwardly, looking at everyone with a giant smile on his face. "I spy with my little eye something that is… green."

Jake snorted. "Ryder's shirt."

"How'd you know?" Sam asked with a smile on his face. Marley and Tina laughed as Ryder just looked down at his shirt in confusion.

"My shirt still isn't green."

"It still looks pretty orange." Kitty mentioned, smirking as Ryder shook his head.

He stood up and stretched as he began to walk away. "You guys suck." As he reached he turned around. "Hey Blaine, can I have Burt's number?"

"You want me to give you- but why?"

"I just need to talk to him." He said, turning around again. "Never mind, I'll just get it from Mr. Schue."

As she watched him walk away, she smiled, watching as his arms swung at his side as if he were walking with purpose. She was drawn to his confidence. It intrigued her. Well, actually, she was drawn to everything about him. The way he walked. The way he talked. The way he trusted her. The way he rubbed his arm when he was nervous. The way she _made_ him nervous.

Everything about him was attractive. Everything.

**The next few chapters are going to fast forward. The next chapter will be on date night at the mall/wherever I make them go. But then the next couple of chapters after that are going to be a month or two later. So now, I have to research law/court terms so I can write that part of the story accurately. Should be fun… :P Anyway, thanks to everyone who reads and reviews. You guys are totally amazing and I don't think I can tell you that enough. **

**Thanks to: **

**Iluvwillschuester: **Haha yep. Blaine is being a jerk but I love him still. He's so fun to write. Hahaha RIB is on my list too. That guy needs to get his act together! :P You don't have to apologize. I understand that you have a life. Haha. :) Thanks for the review (s). They made my day.

**DoctorTaco77: **Aw thanks. That means a lot to me, you have no idea. :) You've literally just made my entire life and I love you so much right now. Plus, your username is perfect.

**Guest-B: **Yeah… Blaine annoys me in this story but I love writing him. It makes me smile sometimes. Plus, since Jake is kinda his friend now, I feel like someone needs to fight with him. :) Yes, Unchained Melody was perfect. I agree 100%. Thanks so much for the comments. You never fail to make me smile.

**Bri Deene: **One of the reasons I wanted to update today was because I wanted to respond to you. :) Brody is pissing me off too! I hate that guy! I just want Finchel, which is strange because I didn't really like them that much in the first two seasons but then the last episode of season 3 made me cry for a couple of days. That's when I started to like them. My fave part was definitely Unchained Melody. That just made my day. Haha. I know! Ryder's gonna get punched. Thanks for reviewing.

**Rach-icle: **Thanks so much for commenting. Sorry for making Blaine evil. I kinda yell at myself for that sometimes because Blaine is amazing. :)

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Haha thanks! :D Nothing happens where I live either. Trust me. The suburbs of PA are pretty boring… I want to move to LA so bad! That'd just be so fun. Yes, Sam will be in the next chapter quite a bit…. I think. I'm actually not sure. I haven't written it yet, but I'll try my best to get him in there for you. :)

**Reflections of Twilight: **I love that song! Well, I love all Goo Goo Dolls songs. They're always so perfect! I feel so bad for Jake. He tried so hard with that whole pottery idea. Exactly! She doesn't love Jake; she just thinks she does. Thanks for commenting!

**Hannah/Guest: **I know. I make myself so upset sometimes because I'm always making Ryder's life suck. Haha. I mean, he was leaving a room with money. What were we supposed to think!? Lol. I know! I totally thought my baby was going to be punched right then and there. :P

**PandaChubz31: **Aw thanks! You're so sweet. And thanks for reviewing again. :)

**So I'm pretty sure there will be 10-15 more chapters in this story. Maybe even 7ish. I have the plot for the sequel but that won't be until the summer probably. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your Glee Thursday and Friday! Talk to you on Saturday! (Unless you want to PM me or talk to me on Tumblr.) **


	25. Chapter 25

Marley sat in the back seat in the van, bouncing her knees nervously as she waited for their arrival in the mall. From what she had been told, there was a bowling alley, some restaurants, a movie theatre, and of course, stores. Biting her lip, she risked a glance at Ryder who looked pretty calm and collected despite the situation they were in. How he did that, she wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that he was just as nervous as she was, or at least she hoped he was.

"Stop." Kitty hissed once more, reaching over and placing her hand on Marley's leg to stop it from shaking. "You're making me car sick."

"I'm _sorry." _Marley whispered back. "I'm nervous."

"I don't understand why in the world you think it's necessary to whisper that." Kitty muttered nonchalantly, earning a glance from Jake and Sam. Ryder kept staring out the window though. "We already know you're afraid you're going to mess up your date with Ryder."

Marley gasped and shoved Kitty as Ryder turned to look at them confused. "What?"

Kitty growled and rubbed her arm before turning to give Ryder a glare. Shaking her head, she turned once more so she was staring at Marley. "I'm just _saying." _

"Well stop." Marley warned, smiling awkwardly at Ryder who looked thoroughly confused. All he had heard was his name being spoken. "She didn't say anything."

"And you call me a liar." Sam mumbled as he rested his head against the window. "They were talking about how Marley was nervous for your date."

To say Ryder's face was red would have been an understatement. The attention he had been receiving for this date was almost unbearable. It seemed as if everyone had an opinion about it, including Mr. Schue, who seemed the think the entire thing was a bad idea. Ryder knew better though because this was one of the only things he was absolutely positive was a good thing. Marley was a good girl who had made Ryder feel like he used to before the accident. She made him feel like himself.

"Sam's a liar, though." Marley made up for Sam's blunt honesty. Ryder turned to look at Sam who was shaking his head with a frown on his face. "He's lying."

"No he's not." Jake muttered, turning around to glare at Marley. "What happened not using Sam's illness against him? Because you just yelled at me for that."

"Shut up Jake." Marley pouted, crossing her arms to turn to look out the window again. She knew that if she did anything to mess up this date, she'd never forgive herself. That's what everyone else didn't seem to understand. "Nobody asked you."

"How much longer?" Blaine groaned, slamming his head against the seat in front of his, which happened to belong to Ryder. Marley looked over at him and as hard as she tried, she couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. "This is endless!"

"We've been in the car for five minutes, Blaine." Will commented before switching lanes so he could turn into the mall. "We're here."

When the car came to a stop, Ryder practically jumped out of the van and pulled a hat over his head and a sweatshirt on. As if it was even the slightest bit possible to recognize him even though his face was practically covered, he pulled sunglasses out of his pocket and slipped them on. It confused Marley, but she didn't say anything until they got into the mall.

"Aren't you going to take all of that off?" She asked, pointing to what he was wearing as they made their way through the mall. Everyone else had gone in different directions with explicit directions to return to the van in three hours. "We're inside now."

"Oh uh…" He started, looking down at what he was wearing. "Nah. I'm good." She bit her lip but kept walking, hoping that he'd eventually take off his sweatshirt and glasses so she could at least see his face. He was her date after all. "It's just… I know people here."

"You what?" She asked, slightly taken aback by his blunt honesty. Was she not good enough for him? Is that what he was trying to say?

"I just don't want to be seen…" He mumbled, confused as to why she was making such a big deal of this. They were only a couple feet from the mini golf and he really wanted to play but she stopped walking so she could look at him while having this conversation.

"You don't want to be seen with me?" She asked, her eyes watering a little; just enough for him to feel insanely guilty. "We didn't have to make this a date, Ryder."

"What- No!" He screamed, causing a couple people to look over in their direction. At the beginning of the week, he just wanted time to speed up so he could go on this date but right now, he just wanted to go back to the center and sleep. "I just… my dad… he, well… people don't know I went to rehab. They think I went to Africa or something to be a part of some prestigious program."

She stood there with her arms crossed for what felt like an eternity. He just wanted her to tell him that it was ok so they could continue with their date like nothing had happened. But instead of smiling, or even laughing about it, she stepped back and shook her head. "Fine. Then you can walk around by yourself. I'm going to go and find Kitty and Sam."

"C'mon, Marls…" He pleaded, turning around to stare longingly at the mini-golf for a couple of seconds. By the time he turned back around she was already walking away. "Marley!"

Blaine walked up to the boy shaking his head. "I hate your guts, man. I really do. But if what you're saying is true and your dad _was_ driving the car, then you shouldn't care about his reputation."

"Don't you have anything better to do than rub that in my face?" Ryder questioned, taking his hat off his head. As he rubbed his hair and tried to make sure he had no hat hair, he heard his name being called. Turning, he saw Katie walking over with a smile on her face. "What's she doing here?"

"I texted her." Blaine responded nonchalantly, shrugging as he stepped to the side and watched as the girl practically tackled the boy to the ground. Ryder groaned and grabbed onto a railing behind him to keep himself from falling backwards.

"What are you doing back?" She exclaimed, putting her hand on her hip and cocking her head to the side as if she was thoroughly confused. Before, it had made Ryder laugh but now he just thought she looked like an idiot. Marley would never do that.

He looked over at Blaine who was smirking at them. "Oh I just..." Ryder started but as he looked at the blonde in front of him, he noticed she wasn't really paying all that much attention. "I just felt like it..?"

She smiled and flicked her hair behind her back. "How are you enjoying Paris?"

"Paris?" He asked, scrunching his eyebrows slightly before whispering to himself, "I thought I was in Africa…"

"Ryder!" Will yelled from across the walkway. Ryder looked up and turned around to see Will jogging slowly over to him. "Why is Marley crying in the bathroom? Did something happen?"

Ryder's stomach dropped. "She's crying?" Without saying goodbye, Ryder started walking towards the girl's bathroom; Blaine at his heels. Once Blaine caught up, Ryder turned towards him. "What am I in Paris for?"

"You're helping your dad's company with something." Blaine answered as they rounded a corner. "It has something to do with medicine and cancer."

"I thought I was in Africa?"

"No." Blaine responded, already tired of the conversation. "You _were _in Brazil but you realized that the only way to help people who were sick directly would be to study the medicine you put in them."

"Isn't Brazil in Africa?" Ryder asked, feeling proud of himself for catching Blaine in his mistake. He frowned though when Blaine sighed and shook his head annoyed. Once he saw Kitty banging on a door, he stopped paying attention to Blaine, even though he was currently giving him a geography lesson. "What happened? Is she ok?"

Without much of a warning, Kitty reached over and shoved Ryder. "What is your problem!?"

"What's _your _problem?" Ryder retaliated, rubbing the spot on his chest that she had hit. He was pretty sure it was going to bruise but at the moment he couldn't care less. "Is this because of what I said?"

"You're _ashamed_ of her?" Kitty quipped, crossing her arms and she shot a nasty glare in his direction. Ryder gulped as he shook his head. "Why would you even say that? Why would you even think that!?"

"I don't!"

"Then why did you say it?" Blaine questioned, crossing his arms as a smirk found its way to his face.

"This doesn't involve you, Gaylord." Kitty spat in his direction. "Why don't you go and buy some more hair gel?"

Ryder wanted to chuckle but he knew that Marley was on the other side of that door crying and it was all his fault, so instead he leaned against the door and knocked softly. "Marley, please let me in."

As he pressed his ear to the door, he heard her sniffle and his heart broke. "It's the girl's bathroom." She said softly, her voice cracking.

"Then can you please come out?" When he was met with silence, he shut his eyes. "I didn't mean what I said, Marley. I swear to you. I didn't mean it at all."

Marley stood her ground and kept the door locked and shut. He had meant what he said. People always meant what they said. She had no intention of opening the door before they had to leave, but as she heard him begin to retreat back down the hallway, she felt her heart break. Sure, she was never going to open the door for him, but she thought he'd at least fight for her a little more.

_Why would he fight for you if he's ashamed of you? _Was all her brain could think to say. She sighed and walked over to the tiny mirror above the rather dirty sink. Biting her lip, she wiped the tears from her cheeks and rubbed her eyes.

Kitty was still outside pounding on the door claiming that Ryder was just a jerk. She was about to open the door and just go shopping with Kitty, but she was interrupted by the intercom.

"_Marley Rose?" _She heard a familiar voice say and she bit her lip in anticipation. "I'm really, really sorry."

Rolling her eyes she opened the door and looked at Kitty who was staring up at the speaker with her mouth wide open. Clearly she was shocked but Marley knew better than to succumb to Ryder's pleas.

"I never meant to make you feel bad." He continued seemingly unaware of her lack of interest. "You're amazing and beautiful and an awesome person and I'm so happy to know you."

"He's talking about you…" Kitty whispered, nudging her shoulder. Marley giggled and nodded her head at the obvious information before looking up at the speaker as well. She wished he was just standing in front of her.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave…" Some lady muttered in the background and Ryder's sigh was audible. "You aren't supposed to be up here."

"Oh and I'm Ryder." Ryder mumbled into the receiver and the sound of a door opening followed. "Ryder Lynn. And I never went to Paris or Africa or wherever Brazil is. I was actually in Rehab."

"Security!" The lady screamed in the background and Marley looked with wide eyes at Kitty who only looked amused.

"And in case you were wondering…" The boy continued, even though Marley could hear the security guards in the background yelling at him. "I'm the son of the guy who owns this mall, Bradley Lynn… ouch. Why are you-."

There were a few muffles before the intercom turned off and the faint elevator music filled their ears. Marley bit her lip and walked away from the bathroom and down the hallway towards the main part of the mall where the shops were. She almost felt guilty for getting him in trouble until she remembered what he had said and done. Then again, he had just exclaimed that he wasn't ashamed of her in front of the entire mall.

"In the car." Will muttered distastefully at Kitty and Marley. "Now."

"Where's-." Kitty started to ask but Will cut her off.

"Don't worry about Ryder." Marley noticed the angry tone he was using and chose not to argue with him. "He's in so much trouble."

Their date was ruined but Marley couldn't help but smile as she made her way to the van where Emma was waiting with a disappointed look upon her face. As Marley got yelled at for some unknown reason, she couldn't help but smile. And as she saw Ryder being dragged out of the mall, with Bradley holding on to his collar and Will trailing behind them, she couldn't help but smile.

Because he was proud to be her friend. He was proud to be with her.

**Hey guys! I'm so super sorry that this was so late and I'm terribly sorry that I'm not going to be able to respond to everyone. I'm literally so tired and I'm at my beach house and it's supposed to be 'family time'. I will post on Wednesday, though. So I'll respond individually then! There are a couple of people that I really want to take the time to respond to now, even though my mom is up my but about not paying attention to this stupid game of Uno. **

**ChuckNutz: **Thank you so much for reading all of them within an hour. That's impressive and it means a lot.

**Your-Protector: **I'm honored that you chose my story to review even though you don't normally review anything. That makes me so happy. Thanks so much for reviewing and being so nice.

**Guest 2: **It's not going to take me a month.. It'll just be a month later in the story.

**So thank you to you guys, obviously. And also thank you to the rest of those who reviewed, (which I will respond to next chapter), **_Guest 1, Reflections of Twilight, PandaChubz31, xxEllieJellyxx, Hannah, iheartart13, Popcorn0912, iluvwillschuester, Love Stories55, Guest-B, and Bri Deene. _

**I promise to respond next chapter. Also, I'm not really liking this chapter but considering I've waiting a week and a half, I'm just going to suck it up and post it. It hasn't been proofread and I'm sorry if it doesn't' make sense. **

**Please Review and let me know what you think. It always means the world to me. Sorry again and I'm going to get off before 1. My mom yells at me again, and 2. My laptop runs out of battery. **

**Have a lovely spring break! **


	26. Chapter 26

When they finally reached the car, Will, Ryder, and Bradley formed a little circle outside of the car. Marley watched as they seemingly yelled at each other but she couldn't understand what they were saying because their voices were muffled by the glass. Bradley looked extremely pissed off whereas Ryder just seemed perfectly content despite the situation he had gotten himself into. Will, on the other hand, look nervous as hell, almost like he was about to throw up.

"Who _is_ that?" Kitty asked, sitting up in her seat and leaning forward so she could see more clearly.

"Bradley Lynn." Blaine muttered, looking at the scene unfolding in front of him. "He owns the mall and a couple of the other businesses in town."

"Well now I see where Ryder gets his looks from.." Kitty mumbled without meaning to. Blushing slightly, she shook her head and refocused on the three guys outside. Ryder was beginning to look more uncomfortable as Bradley continued to scream in his direction. Some people passing by stopped to pay more attention and Marley got a little angry with them.

Ryder didn't notice them, though, as his dad's words cut through him like a knife. To say he should have been aborted was bad, but now his dad was just being cruel. As the thought about it, he realized that he probably couldn't even call him dad. He used to be but that all changed at some point. Ryder couldn't remember when.

"… and you just-. Are you even listening to me?" Bradley questioned, bringing Ryder back to the reality of the situation. He looked around at the people who were _pretending _to be doing anything other than listening to the drama that was unfolding. Licking his lips he turned back towards his father and nodded his head. "Don't lie to me!"

Narrowing his eyes, Ryder licked his lips again before muttering, "But I want to be _just _like you, dad and you're one of the best liars I know."

The red Bradley was seeing was almost about to take control, but he sighed instead of acting on it. Ryder had always brought out Bradley's worst qualities and he was only now just noticing it. Why they had even decided they were ready for kids was now beyond Bradley's realm of understanding. As he stood there with a blank expression on his face, Ryder shook his head and made his way around the van so he could climb into one of the empty seats.

"You ok?" Emma asked, once Ryder had slammed the car door behind him. Smiling slightly but not very convincingly, he nodded his head.

The car remained silent, even though Will had tried to strike up a conversation multiple times. The teens were too wrapped up in their own thoughts to even try to acknowledge Will's existence. Most of them were silently screaming at Ryder for ruining their 'fieldtrip'. Marley, on the other hand, was too busy thinking about Ryder, who in turn was thinking about her.

Will looked in the rearview mirror at how miserable they all appeared. He had hoped they would be able to handle being in public but that didn't work out and he regretted his decision to take them out in the first place. But still, as he looked at them all frowning and looking around lifelessly, he couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards them. Sighing in defeat, he turned the car around and started driving to a 'family fun' center that had no association with the Lynn family.

When they pulled into the parking lot, the kids looked around a little confused. There were two buildings and a mini golf course that seemed to be only filled with little kids. Will unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, stretching as he did so. Ryder followed suit.

"What are we doing?" Sam asked, looking around and taking the place in. The bigger building was called 'Danny's Family Fun Center' and there was a giant chipmunk mascot wearing some yellow overalls.

"Well, I figured since the mall didn't work out..." Will started, forcing himself to stare sternly in Ryder's direction. In all honestly though, he was a little proud of the boy for not only sticking up for himself but for stepping out of his father's endless lies as well. "I assumed you guys didn't want to go back to the center so quickly."

"So you brought us to 'Babies R Us'?" Kitty muttered distastefully, crossing her arms and staring at him like he was the craziest person in the world. "I'm a little insulted."

"Obviously he brought us here because Ryder was _acting_ like a baby." Jake spat, turning to glare in Ryder's direction. Now the two of them had started out as enemies but Ryder was still a little shocked that Jake would turn on him this quickly over something so stupid. Marley, too, was a little surprised.

Will shook his head and pressed the 'lock' button on the car keys. "There's pizza inside and we can play lazer tag."

"This is so stupid." Jake moaned, throwing his head back in aggravation.

Will pursed his lips, annoyed with the boy's close-mindedness. "Would you rather just go home?"

"No." Jake grumbled, crossing his arms like a child. "I'd _rather_ go back to the mall and leave Ryder here."

Ryder looked down before he felt someone rub his back comfortingly. Turning, he saw Marley standing there with a small smile on her face.

"Give it a rest." Blaine stuck up for the kid, surprising everyone including himself. Jake gornaed but followed Mr. Schue into the building.

As the other kids wandered off to find food or something, Ryder grabbed Marley's hand and led her to a picnic table outside. Once they sat down, he said, "I really am sorry, Marls. I was just being stupid."

"No you weren't." She mumbled, shaking her head while focusing on tapping her fingers against the wood. "If we were back where I'm from, I would've done the same thing. It sucks being judged."

"You shouldn't have to be." He returned, watching her fingers as they appeared to dance on the table top. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"And neither did you." She offered even though she knew he didn't believe her in the slightest. It was too late to convince him he wasn't in the wrong, and even though she told him he wasn't, she still supposed he might have been right. But at the same time, she didn't want him to worry about that. She wanted him to be happy. "I guess we're both the same in that regard."

"Bonnie and Clyde." He mused with a smirk on his face. She laughed and looked up at him. "Except we don't rob banks."

She smiled and licked her lips. "Maybe we should start doing that instead of hanging around those guys." She muttered, nodding her head over in the direction of where the other guys had gone.

Ryder chuckled and nodded his head. "We'd have to make it a goal to rob every bank in the entire world just to make sure that we'd have enough money to buy Hawaii."

"Can you even buy Hawaii?" Marley tested, looking at him quizzically. "I mean, can't we just buy another island and call it 'Marley Island'?"

"Hey, why does it have to be named after you?" Ryder asked, cocking his head to the side questioningly. "I was the one who said we were Bonnie and Clyde."

"Yeah, and I was the one who said we should start robbing banks." Marley quipped with a small smile on her face. "I mean, I'll _let_ you live there."

"Oh? You'll _let_ me live on your island?"

"Only if you're good." She mentioned, licking her lips. "Which means no breaking into private rooms and using the intercom system illegally."

He chuckled before looking over at her earnestly. "I meant everything I said on the intercom by the way. You're beautiful, Marley and anyone who wouldn't want to be seen with you is an idiot."

"Thanks." She blushed and looked down, not really pleased with the direction of this conversation. Focusing on herself led her thoughts to drift towards her past and she couldn't risk that happening. After all, her plan was to get out of rehab and focusing on the past wasn't the way to do it. She needed to move on and forget, not live in the moments her life turned to hell. Taking a breath, she looked up and allowed her eyes to drift to the mini-golf course sitting a couple of yards from them. "Want to play mini-golf? I'll let you win."

"You'll _let_ me win?" He asked raising his eyebrows slightly before smirking. "Don't make me laugh, Marley Rose. I'm the Tiger Woods of mini-golf."

Giggling, she stood up and reached over to grab his hand. Just like the little kids who were already playing with their families, they skipped hand in hand and paid with the money Will had given them all before they left for the mall. Ryder used his money to pay for the two of them as Marley picked out their clubs and balls.

"How come I have to be pink?" Ryder asked sadly as Marley handed him his club. He looked distastefully at the ball she had picked for him before pouting in her direction. She laughed and shrugged her shoulders before putting her purple ball on the ground and lining herself up to hit the ball. "How come you get to go first?"

She looked up at him before nodding her head and taking a step back. "You're right. Ladies first. You go ahead."

As she smiled at her own joke, he couldn't help but smirk back at her. He licked his lips and shook his head. "Watch it, Rose or I'll have to go to extreme measures."

"Oh yeah?" She challenged, holding her arms out as she looked at him confidently. "Bring it."

"You don't want to mess with me. I'm as strong as The Rock." He continued, ignoring her confidence. She smirked and shook her head.

"Doubt it." She added and watched as he jokingly threw his golf club to the ground in fake anger. She giggled as he closed the space between them and lifted her off the ground. With one swift motion, she was hanging upside down with her head inches from the cement. "Put me down!"

"Take it back." He ordered, looking down at her. She looked ridiculous but still just as stunning as she did when she was standing normally. "Say 'Ryder Lynn is the strongest and hottest _guy_ in the world and he definitely doesn't deserve to have a pink ball'."

"Ryder Lynn…" She started through her giggles but she was interrupted by an annoyed sounding cough coming from behind him.

"Are you going to go any time soon?" A man asked. He looked to be about 40 or so and there was a young boy standing next to him, but Marley couldn't be sure because she was hanging upside down. Ryder coughed awkwardly and stood out of the way. "My kid would like to play before midnight."

"Oh uh… yeah." Ryder mumbled awkwardly, kicking his ball towards the side. "You guys can just go ahead of us."

Marley scoffed and looked up at Ryder who still hadn't set her down. "Aren't you going to put me down?"

"You know the rules." He muttered as he watched the guy take a shot. "Say it or stay upside down for the rest of your life."

"Ryder Lynn is the strongest and hottest guy in the world." She muttered distastefully, giggling when she looked up and saw him smiling down at her. "I said it! Let me down!"

"You didn't say the last part."

She groaned and licked her lips. "And he doesn't deserve to have a pink ball." She mumbled, sighing in delight as she was lifted up again so she was no longer upside down. Instead she was right side up, but still in his arms.

"Thank you." He whispered, his lips almost touching hers.

She smiled and whispered back. "You're welcome."

Without so much as a second thought, she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair before pressing her lips against his. He responded quickly, setting her down on her feet and placing his hands on her waist. It felt right, like they had been made just for each other and they figured perhaps they had been.

He pulled away first and rested his forehead against hers. She smiled and wrinkled her nose as he kissed it. The happiness she was feeling seemed unparalleled. She knew that he had the potential to tear her apart with just a few words, but she also knew that he would try his hardest to make sure he didn't.

"Hey Marley?" He asked with a thoughtful look on his face, still resting his forehead against hers. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure." She whispered considering they were only inches apart.

"Can you be my girlfriend?" He asked hopefully, pulling away so he could look at her properly. "I make a pretty awesome boyfriend."

"Of course you do." She said sarcastically, still showcasing her perfect smile. "And I'd love to be your girlfriend."

And just like that, Ryder's life felt perfect for the first time in a while.

**Yay. So there's finally a Ryley, in spite of RIB completely destroying my Ryley feels recently. This is for two chapters so bear with the length… again. **

**Bri Deene: **Jarley is growing on me too but it's nothing compared to how I feel about Ryley. Katie is really random. I don't want her to be fake though. I want her to be real and awesome so that Marley realizes what she's missing. She can't! I hate Brody. I'd much rather see Finnchel. Thanks for the comment!

**Guest-B: **I'm a little worried about the court stuff, which I think will be in either the next chapter or the one after that. It really just depends on what I think of the next time I open Word. :P Thanks for reviewing every time. It really makes me smile. I wanted them to go on their date too… which is why I wrote this chapter. :P I'm not sure, but whatever his dad does gets him enough money to buy a mall. Lol. Well _now_ they're official. :) Thanks for commenting and being amazing! Have a great spring break!

**LoveStories55: **I love your username and your icon picture. It's so adorable. :) Thanks for reviewing.

**Iluvwillschuester: **Thanks so much! :) Your comments always make me so happy and I miss talking to you! Get your grades up missy so I can fangirl with you. :P :) OH I know. I would've been a little upset if Sam was gay just because that'd be so totally random.

**Popcorn0912: **I just start typing and hope it comes out alright. Lol. Thanks for the comment!

**Guest 1: **I'm not entirely sure if I answered this already, but it will be updated regularly but the time in the story will be a month or two later.

**Hannah/Guest: **Thanks for the comment! I agree… don't like Brody at all.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Hahaha totally! LA would be fantastic! We could meet Blake and marry him. Well I will meet Blake and marry him. Lol. You can have Darren Criss or someone but I totally call Blake. I'm back and forth on Blaine too. I just like writing him. I'm not sure if Sue will be in this story. She will be if I write the sequel though. Thanks! That's so sweet. :)

**Pandachubz31: **Aw thanks! You're so sweet!

**Reflections of Twilight: **I hear that Ryley is signing a duet and I really hope that's true. I honestly can't take anymore Jarley. Who's the other Ryley shipper? I love Ryley shippers. Haha. :)

**Guest 2: **Aw thanks so much! That's so sweet! Thanks for commenting.

**TotalGleek16: **Haha I know. Ryder was being such a jerk. :P Idk. I just type and hope it comes out alright.

**Angelina Johnson: **You have no idea how awesome it is to have you say that. I literally love every one of your stories. I wasn't sure of the premise of this story when I first started writing it either. Thanks so much for commenting. :)

**ChuckNutz: **I love Ryley too. I just hope Ryan Murphy will start to love them as much as I do. They need to be end game. Thanks for reviewing. :)

**So there's chapter 26. I know I always say this, but I'm pretty sure there will be somewhere around 5 more chapters until this story is over. It might be a little more than that but I can't imagine anything more than 10. I'm pretty much done with the characters at this point of their life. **

**Anyway, have a lovely spring break and I'm going to try really hard to update this on Saturday but I'm not entirely sure if I'll be able to. That's the day I'm driving back home. But if I don't get the next chapter up on Saturday, it will be up on Sunday. I promise. **

**Have a great rest of your spring break if you're on it and if not, try not to die at school. :)**


	27. Chapter 27

Ryder sat up in his bed and stared blankly at the wall in front of him. It had been two months since he and Marley decided to put labels on themselves as if they even needed to. He realized now that even if they hadn't, they would have acted as if they were together because that's just how they were. She trusted him and he trusted her.

He heard a knock on the door and almost jumped until his mind wrapped himself around the concept of today. It was going to be hard, he knew that. Everyone involved seemed to remind him of the fact that today would be difficult as if there was any way he could forget.

"Come in." He mumbled, scratching the back of his head as he turned to face the door. Not knowing who it was almost made him nervous, or at least that's what it felt like. Truthfully, he just didn't want it to be Mr. Schue telling him it was time to go. He was pretty content just sitting in his bed for the next month or two.

Relief coursed through him when he saw it was only Marley and Kitty walking into the room. Although Kitty hadn't been told the full story, other than what she had heard, she cared enough about the situation to offer him advice. She had even stayed up late several nights in a row watching _Law & Order_ and then coaching him on everything she picked up on.

"Mr. Schuester sent us down here to get you." Kitty said as she sat on top of his desk. Marley took the initiative of grabbing his suit from the closet and practically throwing it in his direction. He would have scowled had it not been for the smile she was currently sporting. "He said to tell you that you're leaving in twenty minutes."

"Gotcha." He muttered, rubbing his hands together as he stood up and turned so he could pick up his suit. Licking his lips, he gave Marley a pleading look, practically begging her to give him an excuse to stay.

"Hey Kitty?" She asked, turning to her new friend. "Can you go and tell Jake and Sam to gather a plate for breakfast?"

"But-."

"Please?" Marley pleaded, crossing her arms and staring at her with wide eyes. The blonde groaned before nodding her head and turning towards the door.

"Oh, before I forget…" She started as she stepped into the hallway. "Don't forget what I taught you, Ry. Appeal to the jury." With that said she shut the door behind her and left the couple to themselves.

"I don't want to do this anymore, Marls." He sighed, falling back onto his bed with a small, over exaggerated whimper. She licked her lips and sat down next to him. "I'm just going to mess this up. That tends to be a habit of mine, you know."

"You'll do great, Ry." She soothed, rubbing his back as he leaned forward so his head was in his hands. "I know you're going to do amazing."

"I'm going to say something wrong."

"No you won't." She offered.

"I'm not going to be able to convince the jury." He continued, unfazed by her optimism. "I can't even convince Blaine and he saw me get into the passenger's seat."

"Blaine is confused," Marley said. She knew for a fact that if Ryder could do anything, it was get people to believe he was never in the wrong. He was incredibly charismatic and that trait alone was going to get him through the trial. "…and stubborn." She finished as an afterthought.

"I don't even know how to put on a stupid suit." Ryder muttered distastefully, finally looking up to shoot her a look of desperation. "I've never worn one before."

"Well, there's a first for everything." She said with a smile, standing up and holding her hand out for him to grab. "Look, you're going to be fine, Ryder. I promise you and I'll be in that courtroom rooting for you. If you get overwhelmed, just look at me."

He sighed and grabbed onto her hand letting her help pull him up. Groaning, he turned towards his suit and held it against his body. "This just looks like it's going to be uncomfortable."

"Don't even talk to me about uncomfortable." She muttered looking down at her own heels. Kitty had insisted that regardless of where she was going, she had to make a statement. Unfortunately, Marley didn't have the sense to object when Kitty had practically shoved the shoes into her chest.

Ryder licked his lips while looking at her feet with his eyebrows scrunched. "Why can't we just wear sneakers?"

If there was anything about girls that didn't make sense to Ryder, it was their habit of doing things that made them clearly uncomfortable. The clothes they wear, for example, cannot be comfortable and they just look like they're being suffocated. And then there's the shoes that make them waddle around like ducks.

"You have to look official." Marley cooed, reaching up and moving his hair around until it looked somewhat classy. "Maybe we'll see if Blaine can lend you some hair gel."

Despite the situation, Ryder managed to chuckle. "I don't think that's happening." He mumbled, picking his suit up while unbuttoning his pants with the other hand. "Nice try though."

"W-what are you doing?" She asked, widening her eyes as he began to pull his pants down. She was willing to do almost anything to make him feel better but she wasn't ready for _that_. The thought of it made her shiver and she found herself slowly backing away from him, scared of what he might say if she refused.

"Relax." He said seemingly unaware of her anxiety. "It's not like I'm going commando." After he pulled up his suit pants and looked up, his face softened when he saw how nervous she seemed to be. "Hey, I'm not going to pressure you. Ever."

"I know. I just-." She started but he interrupted her by pushing her hair to the side.

"We're never going to do anything you don't want to." He said softly, putting his forehead onto hers. "I promise and I'm sorry."

She sighed and shook her head. "You don't have to be sorry." He took a step back and motioned to his shirt with a cheeky smile on his face. "Go ahead.."

She couldn't help but gawk as he lifted his pajama shirt over his head, revealing his perfectly chiseled chest. She couldn't help herself from wondering why he even bothered to wear shirts at all, but before she even had time to contemplate whether it'd be appropriate to hide all of his shirts from him, the door opened.

"Ryder, have you-." Will started until he saw Ryder without his shirt on. "Why are you half-naked with Marley standing right there?"

Ryder licked his lips and chuckled while shaking his head. Quickly, he threw his white undershirt on and slid his arms into his a nicer button up shirt. He looked distastefully at the suit jacket before sighing. "Do I have to put that on? It's not like I'm going to a wedding."

"No, you don't have to put that on." Another voice said as she walked into the room. Ryder looked up to see Cynthia walking over to give Marley a hug.

"But it'll look so nice." Marley commented with a small smile on her face. "You'd actually look classy for once."

Ryder scoffed and shook his head. "I always look classy."

"No you don't." Marley argued, smiling slightly as she saw him scrunch his nose and look at her like she was crazy. "You're always wearing sweatpants."

"Marley," He started, making his tone match that of a kindergarten teacher. "I'm classier than classy. Let's be honest."

"Are you done now?" Cynthia asked tiredly, interrupting the teenager's boring fake argument. Both looked at her with crimson cheeks before nodding their heads. She couldn't help but smile slightly at the two before shaking her head and running through everything that still had to be done. "Do you have any last minute questions, Ryder?"

It surprised her how much she like the boy now that she knew everything that had happened. When she had been told early in the year that Marley was spending time with him, she cringed at the idea of him. But now, she saw that he truly was what helped her niece become the person she would have always been had it not been for the multitude of guys her mother brought home.

Ryder licked his lips and sighed as he ruffled his hair slightly. "I'm not expected to say anything today, right?"

Cynthia shook her head and smiled comfortingly in the boy's direction. He wasn't looking at her though, choosing instead to examine his feet. "No. You get to just sick back and relax."

Ryder looked up and smiled at her. "Thanks by the way. I don't know if I said that yet."

"You did." Cynthia nodded, patting the boy's back. "About a million times now."

Marley bit her lip and looked over at the boy. He seemed genuinely relaxed and ready for whatever was thrown at him today, but she knew better than to believe the façade. He might have been a 16 year old boy who had a bad boy rep, but she knew on the inside he just wanted to crawl back under the covers like he would have if he were five. She knew him.

"Just checking. So, can I go eat now?" He mumbled before taking a deep breath and looking over at Marley. With a smirk, he bowed and held his hand out towards the door. "After you, my lady."

Marley giggled and curtsied. "Why thank you, fine gentleman."

Laughing a little, they both left the room in search of something to eat. As he watched them go, Will sighed and ran a hand through his gelled hair. Experience told him that their relationship was a bad idea, that he should try his hardest to get them to realize this. Instead though, he watch silently over the weeks as they became closer and more comfortable with each other, more open to spontaneous kisses than they had been previously.

"They're cute together, you know." Cynthia whispered softly as she turned to look at Will. He was less than thrilled to hear her remark and had to fight himself from rolling his eyes. "You need to trust them, Will."

"It's dangerous." He muttered distastefully, unwilling to allow her words to sway his opinion.

"Love is _always_ dangerous, don't you think?" Cynthia tested, smiling small in his direction. "Putting yourself out there for someone to either accept you or throw you around like you're a piece of trash." Taking a breath, she shook her head and walked towards the door after them. "Maybe it's time to take a step back and let them make their own decisions."

"I have." Will defended, clenching his fists at his side to try to keep his anger in order. "But I've seen this happen before and it will not end well."

Cynthia nodded her head before cocking it to the side in an almost taunting manner. "There is always a risk in relationships, Will."

"But this is different!" He urged, taking a deep breath when he realized he had screamed his response. This subject was sour, filled with poor memories that used to keep him up at night. "_They_ are different."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but aren't you the one who is always saying that we shouldn't treat them any differently just because they're in here?" She challenged once more, choosing to walk out of the room instead of listen to his pathetic answer to her question.

If there was one thing that Cynthia hated, it was hypocrites, which is partially why she had decided to take Ryder's case on in the first place.

X X X

**So the next chapter will be the first part of the trial and that will be up on Wednesday (cross my heart and hope to die). This chapter ended really randomly and I'm not entirely sure why. I had an entire other part of it that I still had to write but this is already over 2,000 words so I will just fit it in later somewhere. **

**Anyway, before I start rambling again, thanks to:: **

**Iheartart13: **Aw thanks! I liked the last chapter too. My Ryley feels were restored. Haha. Thaks os much for saying that. Omg. You have me blushing. I'm not one of the best writers, trust me. Yay! I love virtual hugs. :) I'm glad spring break is giving you a break. It's always nice when school isn't happening. :P Thanks so much for commenting, like always. You're amazing.

**Guest-B: **Hahaha. Thanks for reading it twice. That's such dedication and I'm so thankful for your comments. They always make me smile. Bradley is only going to get worse, I'm afraid. I kinda hate him too, don't worry. Yeah, I really need to fly out to LA and yell at Ryan until he cries. Thanks for commenting. You're so awesome.

**ChavesalfaroA: **Thanks so much! That means so much to me. I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story. Haha, he really is an asshole but he's absolutely adorable. I'm conflicted too. Haha. Thanks for commenting!

**Iluvwillschuester: **Thank YOU for commenting! I know. I'm not over the Wemma disaster either, or the fact that Marley chose Jake. That just makes me upset. PLUS, apparently Jarley is singing 'Just Give Me A Reason' which totally fits Wemma so much better. It just makes me mad. Good! I'm glad your grades are getting better! Now I can talk to you more. :) You aren't bugging me, honest. Fanfiction is giving me problems recently. I've tried about 10 times to comment on the last chapter of COM but it isn't working. Come to think of it, I also have 3 messages on Tumblr that I can't read or reply to. Maybe my internet is having an intervention. I loved the chapter though. It was absolutely adorable and I really hate Terri. That was just so mean and unnecessary of her at the end. Hmph. It made me mad. Haha. Well thanks for commenting because it made me smile and I'm sorry I can't do the same. Stupid internet. Oh and of course, you can ask me anything.

**Reflections of Twilight: **You should totally tell her I love her… and her name. Ellie is such pretty name. I'm jealous of her. They do have better chemistry than Jarley. Every kiss Ryley shares is so romantic. Haha, thanks for commenting. :)

**ChuckNutz: **I hope they're endgame as well. They _need_ to be endgame. Thanks for commenting! :)

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Yay! I get Blake! WOO! Brody is so hot though, but I hate his character. He's so sleazy and just gross. I never noticed until I saw the posts on Tumblr of Finn saying, "You're beautiful the way you are" and then Brody saying, "Everyone needs a makeover". That just made me mad. Like, I used to love Brody until then and now I'm just disgusted by him. Idk. Yay! Ryley fans are awesome :)

**TotalGleek16: **Haha. I'm too lazy to do much of anything. :P Thanks :) I WANT MY RYLEY TOO!

**MiggieMoo2014: **Thanks so much for the lovely comment. :) I just think anything Ryley does is adorable. Haha.

**So there you go. I'm sorry for the updates seeming to be really random lately. I literally fell asleep last night super early and didn't have time to finish the chapter. But, as soon as I upload this chapter, I'm going to start writing chapter 28. That will definitely be up on Wednesday. I promise. **

**Happy Easter! **


	28. Chapter 28

Ryder sat at the table in the front of the court room tapping his fingers impatiently as he waited for the trial to begin. Outside had been a jungle and it reminded him vaguely of the scenes from 'Mean Girls' when Cady imagined how situations would be settled in the animal world. Bradley Lynn was a powerful man who had a lot of influence throughout town, so there were people from almost every news station surrounding the building. Cynthia had told him that since he was under age, his name would be emitted from the articles and his picture would have to be removed. That didn't comfort Ryder like it was supposed to, though.

"Order in the court." A bald man in the front of the court room ordered. He was wearing a security uniform with his arms folded across his body, but Ryder hardly suspected he had much strength to do anything if there was some sort of uprising. "Please be seated."

Ryder continued to drum his fingers against the mahogany surface while glancing around at the people sitting behind him. They were all dressed up in what appeared to be their most distinguished clothing but most of them looked like they were bored. Why were they here anyway? He didn't know who they were and he hardly believed his dad knew all of them.

"This is the case of Mr. Ryder Lynn versus Mr. Bradley Lynn." The judge started, looking between the two tables, before turning towards the jury. Ryder allowed his eyes to shift towards the jury. Most of them didn't seem to be paying much attention. "The charge against Bradley Lynn is vehicular manslaughter. Are there any opening statements?"

"Yes, your honor." Cynthia stood and straightened her outfit. Ryder watched as she strode confidently towards the center of the room and turned to face the jury. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, we will present you with evidence that proves my client, Ryder Lynn, is in fact innocent of all charges brought against him previously. We will show you many aspects of that night that proves the defendant, Bradley Lynn, is guilty of the crime. Ryder was just a boy when his father tried to tear his life away regardless of the boy's innocence."

Cynthia turned away from the jury and Ryder watched and she glared in his dad's direction before licking her lips and walking back to stand next to where Ryder was sitting. "Thank you."

"Does the attorney for Bradley Lynn have an opening statement?" The judge asked.

As Bradley's attorney began to speak, Ryder allowed his eyes to shift towards his dad. Bradley was sitting there with a smirk on his face, staring confidently in the direction of the jury. How he was so sure of himself, Ryder didn't know. He felt his stomach plummet as his dad turned to look over at him, with a look that should've been able to kill him.

Taking a breath, Ryder turned away and looked back towards Cynthia. Still drumming his fingers against the table, he sighed and rubbing his other hand through his hair. Cynthia turned to give him a sympathetic smile before the judge's words distracted her.

"Very well, call your first witness."

Ryder turned towards Cynthia again who was now preparing to stand up. "The plaintiff calls Ms. Shannon Bieste as their first witness."

Licking his lips, Ryder turned to watch his former football coach get sworn in. She offered him a tiny smile before taking her seat in front of the court. As she vowed to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth Ryder looked behind him to see Marley staring at him worriedly. He offered her a tiny smile before he heard the guy in the uniform say that Coach Bieste could sit down.

"For the record, please state your name." Cynthia began.

Bieste nodded her head before saying, "Shannon Bieste."

"What is your relationship to the plaintiff and the accused?"

"I've been Ryder's neighbor for years and I've coached him for even longer." Shannon started, smiling slightly when memories of him as a 4 year old entered her mind. "Bradley has been nothing more than an acquaintance to me. He'd occasionally stop by during football games but other than that I hardly saw him."

"Except on December 31, correct?" Cynthia asked, continuing to pace back and forth as she questioned Bieste. Ryder stared at the woman wondering why she had ever decided to risk defending him in the first place. Sure, they knew each other for a while and they had a pretty close relationship, but Bradley was powerful and could end her life in Lima in seconds.

Bieste nodded, her smile fading slightly. "We had both been invited to the same party."

"And did you see Bradley drink anything alcoholic?" She questioned, stopping directly in front of her.

Coach Bieste nodded her head. "He drank a lot."

"Objection, your honor!" Bradley's attorney shot up, causing Ryder to jump. The enthusiasm he appeared to have didn't seem very practical. All Coach said was something everyone already knew. Bradley was drunk. "Speculation."

"Overruled." The judge mumbled tiredly, resting his head back onto his hand. "Continue Ms. Rose."

"That is all, your honor." Cynthia said before returning to her seat and giving Ryder a confident smile. "Stop tapping your fingers." She whispered, patting his back. "You don't have to worry."

He smiled halfheartedly at her before turning to see his dad's attorney stand up. The man looked weird, almost like he was trying too hard to look professional. His suit was perfectly fitted but his glasses were slightly crooked.

"Miss Bieste," The man started, looking down at the paperwork he had decided to take up with him. "You say you saw Brad drinking, correct?"

"Yes sir." Coach confirmed and Ryder felt himself smile slightly. Maybe this case wasn't so hard. Maybe it was a sure win. "He had downed quite a few before deciding it was time to leave."

"Was he the only one drinking?"

Coach licked her lips. "Well, no."

"And did you physically see him get into the driver's seat?"

"No."

"Then what you're saying is only that Bradley Lynn, a man well above the age of 21, had a couple beers on a night when almost everyone gets drunk, but you didn't see him get into any vehicle?"

Shannon seemed taken aback and as Ryder looked towards Cynthia, he saw her frown slightly. There he went again getting his hopes up for nothing. He sighed and slid down in his seat, annoyed with himself for allowing himself to think that this might just turn out alright.

"No, I did not." Coach finally muttered before looking over at Ryder. Her heart broke as she saw him look desperately towards the jury. They were all nodding their heads.

"It's ok." Cynthia whispered towards him as Bradley's lawyer sat down. "I was expecting that."

"How is that ok?" Ryder questioned, matching her volume. "That didn't do anything."

Cynthia smiled and shook her head. "It proved your father was drinking. Now all we have to do is prove he was in the driver's seat." She answered, her voice still just a whisper. He frowned anyway and started tapping his fingers again. "Don't doubt me yet, Ryder. The trial has only just started."

**X X X**

"You did great." Marley assured as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. He sighed and turned towards her with a frown on his face. "Hey, don't be like that. The trial isn't over yet."

"I didn't even do anything." He mumbled with his eyebrows scrunched.

"You sat there patiently, which I think deserves a lot of applause." She said with a smile on her face. Even though he felt like crap and his nerves were shattered, he allowed himself to smile anyway because when he saw her smile he couldn't help but do anything but return the gesture. "I thought you were going to get up and walk out a couple times."

He chuckled and nodded his head. "My butt really hurts."

"You ready to go?" Will asked, interrupting their conversation, not that either one of them minded. Ryder wanted nothing more than to leave this building and Marley just wanted him to be happy. The sooner that happened, the better. "The car is waiting out front."

Ryder nodded his head and slipped his hoodie on over his nice shirt. The warmth of the sweatshirt seemed to be enough to get him to smile slightly and Marley was thankful for his shift in attitude. He pulled his hood on over his head and grabbed a hat from Will's hands.

"You really do look like Justin Bieber right now." Marley giggled as she handed him a pair of sunglasses. Ryder scoffed and shook his head.

"Way to kick me while I'm down, Marls." He muttered in her direction, licking his lips as he turned towards Will.

Marley crossed her arms and shook her head. "It _wasn't_ an insult." She whined, her eyes shutting peacefully as the boy's lyrics and soft voice filled her mind. It pained him to know his girlfriend thought he resembled a little boy who had yet to go through puberty but as the doors opened and he was pushed out of the court house he stopped caring. He could worry about Bieber later.

"They're animals." Marley muttered, keeping her head down as she reached to grab Ryder's hand. He took it happily and squeezed it tightly as the men around him started to scream questions at him that he didn't want to even think about let alone answer. "Now I know how Lindsay Lohan feels."

Ryder couldn't help but chuckle even though it felt like the wrong moment to do so. He felt both Cynthia and Will's hands on his back but it wasn't so much out of comfort as it was to lead him in the correct direction given the fact he was staring at the ground. Marley seemed to be the only one trying to make him feel like this was normal.

"This sucks." He sulked as he crawled into the car after Marley. She sighed and buckled her seatbelt before staring out the tinted windows at the men who were surrounding the car like a colony of ants around a crumb of bread.

"It'll be over soon." Cynthia said as she too climbed into the car. "You're doing great, Ryder; a lot better than some of the other guys I defend."

"I'm not even doing anything." He grumbled resting his head on the window as Will tried to pull out of his parking space without hitting anybody. It made Will proud to know that his days of sitting in his bedroom as a teenager playing Grand Theft Auto on his PlayStation seemed to be paying off. And his mother was so against him buying the game. If only she could see him now. "All I did was sit there and watch. This is ridiculous. I shouldn't have thought I could win this. I can't win when my dad is who he is. God, why am I so _stupid?"_

Will shook his head and tried to focus on more 'adult' problems, like Ryder's. He pulled over to the side of the highway and turned the car off before turning to look at Ryder, who was thankfully sitting directly behind him. "Ryder, stop it."

"You don't understand. Even if I do win, which I won't, my life is pretty much over anyway. All this is doing is…" Ryder searched his brain for the right words before licking his lips and continuing. "My mom wasn't even there…"

"Ryder, breathe." Will reminded the boy, smiling slightly as he saw Ryder the same exact way Will would've when he was younger. "You are not disappointing anyone."

Ryder scoffed and shook his head, turning to stare longingly out the window again like he had been doing before. "I think there's a line of people who would disagree with that."

"There's an even bigger line that wants you to win." Cynthia helped with a sympathetic smile on her face, saying exactly what Marley was too shocked to say. Sure, they had been dating for months and she knew he was freaking out about the trial but she never would have imagined he'd let his guard down in public, especially in front of her. "And you're _going_ to win, Ryder."

"No I'm not." He grumbled, still focusing on the cars that were passing rather than the people around him. Quite honestly, he wasn't sure why but the feeling in the pit of his stomach was growing and he was just now realizing this wasn't the best idea he's had. "I don't even want to win anyway."

"Stop it!" Marley screamed, finally finding the voice she appeared to have lost. "Just _stop _it_, _Ryder."

The car grew quiet as Ryder turned to face the girl, mostly out of shock, but also because he heard a small whimper when she said his name. It might have pissed him off that she was screaming at him but he still felt obligated to make sure she was alright, even if he was the one causing the pain.

He licked his lips and shook his head after seeing that she wasn't crying. "Can we just go?"

Marley suddenly felt guilty but didn't take back what she said. He _did_ need to stop thinking about himself like he was some waste of space. But as she watched him rest his head on the window again and shut his eyes, almost as if he was in pain, she started to feel bad.

**I don't like writing court scenes, oh my God. That was the most boring thing I've ever done. Haha. And I tried to use the Harvard version of how a court scene works but the words were so hard. Like, I felt like I was reading my physics text book. So I used something written for kids about a trial between the wolf and the pig from 'The Three Little Pigs'. **

**Thanks to my anon buddy on Tumblr. You are awesome. And also thanks to:**

**Iheartart13: **Happy Easter to you too! I hope you had a great time and found a lot of eggs. :) I don't like writing too serious of stories because when I do that, my characters tend to start dying lol. I'm going to try my hardest to write a sequel. Thanks for commenting and always being so sweet when you do!

**Bri Deene: **Happy Easter to you too! I hope it was awesome! :) I'm still hoping for Ryley too. Hopefully RIB comes to their senses and have them get together soon. :) Thanks so much for the comment. You're awesome.

**ChuckNutz: **Thanks so much! I'm glad they make me smile! Every time you review it makes me smile. :) Thanks for being so sweet.

**HG and PJO 4ever: **I hope it's true too! Nothing would make me happier than a Ryley duet. Well, besides there actually _being _a Ryley. Thanks so much for commenting.

**TotalGleek16: **But now there's only 8 days until Glee! WOO! :) They're supposed to be singing a duet and apparently Melissa and Blake are actually dating, although I'm not sure if I really believe that or not. Thanks for commenting.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Haha. I used to love him though. I miss when I thought he was attractive but now he's just getting in the way of Finchel and I don't like it. Haha awww. I couldn't write Glee. People would hate it more than they already do. I LOVE WICKED! I saw that in London and it was amazing. Thanks for commenting and being so sweet!

**Iluvwillschuester: **Thanks for continuing to comment even though my stupid internet won't let me comment on your story. Just Give Me a Reason is the song with Pink and the guy from fun. The rumors aren't true though, thankfully. Thanks for commenting! You're so amazing even though I suck! Happy Easter to you too!

**Angelina Johnson: **I honestly die when you comment. You don't have to apologize. Fanfic won't let me comment on any stories for some reason. Thanks for commenting and being so sweet. You're a much better writer than I am and I love that you're giving this story a chance.

**Thanks to all my commenters and readers in general. You guys are honestly so awesome and I love you all. I wish I could hug you, but sadly I can't. So I'm starting to watch 'Friday Night Lights' and I'm in love with Zach Gilford. He is just amazing. **

**Please review and continue being the awesome people I know you are. **


	29. Chapter 29

_Her back was pressed against a cold wall, her legs trembling beneath her. Nobody was around, but she knew the danger of the situation was imminent. Although she knew that she should be moving, her brain didn't seem to be connecting to her legs. She stood and she stood, not being able to do much else. Her breathing was heavy and she was sweating but she wasn't sure why. _

"_Marley!" She heard a familiar voice scream and her body calmed itself down. Her legs were able to move and she started walking towards the voice. The walls were gray and the room was freezing, but she kept walking because she knew in seconds she'd be in his arms. "Marley, come quick!" _

_Hearing the panic in his voice was enough to get her to start jogging out of the room she started in and down a hallway. She recognized it as the rehab's hallway, only colder and seemingly lifeless. As she turned the corner, she saw him standing there, holding a blonde girl in his arms. The girl was bleeding and Marley felt herself start to tear up. _

"_Marley!" The boy screamed again, looking up with a pained expression. "Please! Help me! You need to help me!" _

_Marley quickened her pace but didn't go anywhere. Her legs were moving faster and faster but her body stayed still. The boy looked up at her again, this time crying as he realized she wasn't coming to help him. "I need you, Marley!" _

"_I'm trying!" She screamed, panting as she made her legs move faster. As she tried to run faster and faster, he seemed to be getting farther and farther away. Exhaustion was taking over and she felt herself start to fade. "I'm trying, Ryder!" _

"_I thought you loved me!" He screamed, although his voice seemed to be quieter as his body became farther from her. "Why won't you help me?" _

"_I _am!"_ She called off to his fading body but black overpowered the area and suddenly she was no longer in the hallway, but in her old house staring at her reflection in the mirror. Looking down, she saw bruises on her arms and they still ached as she touched them. _

"_Marley!" An angry voice called as someone pounded on the door. Marley jumped and turned around, clutching onto the bathroom sink as her body became unsteady. Breathing deeply, she looked around unsure of what to do. She was used to the situation but it had never been like this before. "Get your ugly ass out here!" _

_She bit her lip and reached for her hair curler. If she could turn it on in time, she could burn the man and run outside towards her neighbor's house. As she flicked it on and waited for it to warm up, the door opened and a man dressed in a doctor's uniform entered the bathroom. His eyes were bloodshot and he was holding some sort of glass bottle but she knew better than to assume to best. It wasn't milk he was clutching onto; it was some sort of alcohol. _

_He reached out and clutched onto her hair, forcing her to her knees. Shivering, she watched as he unzipped his jeans, pulling them to his ankles. "Please…" She begged, looking at the floor. _

"_Don't beg." The man bellowed distastefully, taking a giant gulp of the bottle he was holding. "Look at me." _

"_But I-." _

"_LOOK AT ME!" _

_Her eyes shot up, afraid of what would happen to her if she didn't obey and was shocked to see Ryder standing there with a proud smirk on his face. As he licked his lips, he bent over and attached their lips together. It wasn't sweet like it normally was, but forceful and demanding. She no longer liked the taste of his lips. In fact, it reminded her of a mixture of soap and vinegar. _

_He pulled away and smiled sweetly. "Do as I say Marley." _

"_Why are you doing this, Ryder?" She asked weakly, looking up at him as he stood up again, grasping onto the bottle he had allowed to crash to the floor when he started kissing her. "I don't- I don't understand." _

"_Because you're a bitch, Marley." He explained slowly, as if it was common sense and she was stupid to believe anything different. "You're a good for nothing whore and you need to be treated like it." Her mouth opened because of shock, but he only smirked at her. "Now you're thinking." _

Marley sat up panting, clutching onto her heart as panic set in. Where was she? Why was she not in her bed?

"You alright?" Someone asked and she jumped about fifty feet into the air as she felt someone touch her shoulder. "Woah, what's wrong?"

Turning, she saw Ryder standing over her looking rather concerned. Underneath of her was the familiar couch that was sitting in the lounge of the rehab. Breathing deeply, she wiped her hair away from her face and straightened up. She flinched when he took the initiative of sitting down next to her.

"Bad dream?" He asked softly to which she nodded slowly. On the TV was an episode of 'Friday Night Lights' and she vaguely remembered making Ryder watch it when they got back from the court house. "You want to talk about it?"

"With you?" She asked a little too harshly. Taking another breath, she turned to give him an apologetic smile, forcing herself to relax slightly in spite of the fact that he was touching her. "Sorry, I just- I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure? I mean, I can-." He started but she stood up suddenly and glared at him.

"I'm _fine, _Ryder." She snapped, crossing her arms. "Just leave me alone."

Without another word, she stalked out of the room, leaving a very confused Ryder sitting on the couch by himself. It didn't bother her though that she had just yelled at him. He deserved it after what he did.

_He didn't do anything._ Her brain reminded her but she was already too convinced of one reality to acknowledge the other. Her steps were quick and panicked as she made her way to her bedroom, stopping only when she was kneeling in front of her dresser.

She had to get out of here. It wasn't safe; not anymore.

"Hey Marley?" She jumped when she heard his voice again. Her clothes were now being thrown across the room so they landed on her bed. "What are you-? What's going on? Marley?"

He walked over and tried to get her to stop moving; to stop throwing her clothes around like a crazy lady, but she only jumped and pushed him away. "Don't touch me!"

Gulping, he backed away. Her eyes were red and around them were dark circles. She looked exhausted which was weird considering she had just been sleeping. He wasn't sure what had happened between the car ride and now but he didn't like what was going on. Closing the door behind him and positioning a bench so she couldn't get out and walk away, he made his way down the hallway.

She didn't mind that he had left. In fact, it made her feel safe. He couldn't hurt her if he wasn't even in the room to begin with. Standing up, she grabbed her suitcase from underneath her bed before throwing it onto her bed. Unzipping it was hard in the state she was in, but it was manageable and worth it.

As she began throwing her clothes sporadically into her bag, she could hear a conversation happening right outside her door.

"Something is wrong." She heard the boy say and she rolled her eyes as she re-zipped her suitcase. Gently, she pulled her suitcase down so it was now resting on the floor. "Help her."

A man sighed and her body stiffened. "Ryder, you can't just lock people in rooms."

"She's not just a person." Ryder justified, shaking his head as Will stared at him tiredly. "She's my girlfriend."

"Alright, fine." Will sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. "You can't just lock your _girlfriend_ in rooms."

"I didn't know what else to do." Ryder mumbled, moving the bench so Will could enter the room. "She's freaking out and I don't know why. She won't even really look at me. Help her. Please."

"Alright, Alright."

Marley braced herself for the worst as the doorknob started to jiggle. Breathing deeply, she reminded herself that it was just Mr. Schuester and Ryder but the dream she had felt so _real. _In a way, it was real. The door opened slowly and the two guys stepped in, focusing their eyes on Marley's fragile state.

"Marley, what's going on?" Will asked softly, stepping forward with his arm out in an attempt to comfort her. Instead, she took a step back and bumped into the night table next to Kitty's bed. Her hand searched the top of it for anything to use in defense as her eyes stayed glued to Will's body. "Are you feeling alright?"

Ryder licked his lips and watched as Marley grabbed a hold of a pen that had been placed there last night when they were playing Tic-Tac-Toe. Marley had won but Ryder wasn't about to admit that to anybody. Ryder stepped closer to Will and whispered, "She's scared. Why is she scared?"

"Ryder, why don't you go get Emma?" Will asked, still looking at the distraught teenager in front of him. "Would you rather talk to Emma?"

Marley nodded her head and watched as Ryder sighed and walked out of the room. Biting her lip, she refocused on the man in front of her and her heartbeat seemed to quicken as he stepped forward. Getting ready, she gripped the pen tighter before loosening it as he sat on the bed.

"I know you're scared." Will said, looking over at her as he relaxed himself on the bed. "What you went through was terrible and we've been so focused on Ryder that-."

"Ryder needs our help." Marley interrupted feeling the need to defend the boy in spite of the fact she was absolutely terrified of him. "We need to focus on Ryder."

"Right but we need to focus on you as well." Will clarified softly, watching as she relaxed somewhat. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I have nightmares when I'm stressed." She answered softly, taking the time to sit on her own bed. Putting a big enough distance between them was easy seeing as though Will didn't really care where she sat.

Making sure not to cause her any alarm, he slowly made himself more comfortable on top of Kitty's bed as he waited for his wife to come into the room as well. "What happens in these nightmares?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You can trust me, Marley."

Biting her lip, Marley contemplated her options. There was no harm in telling him a lie besides maybe getting caught. But if she were to get caught up in her lies, what would he do to her? Thinking logically, she knew that he wouldn't touch her in any way that she didn't want, but her fears were just as powerful as her logic. "That's what _he_ said."

"I'm not like him, Marley." Will mentioned slowly, trying his best to get his point across to her. He knew it wouldn't be easy but he was still a little disappointed when she looked at him skeptically. "And neither is Ryder. You know that."

Marley shook her head and looked down at her lap. "No I don't."

"If you don't trust Ryder, why are you in a relationship with him?" Will asked, cocking his head to the side slightly. He didn't mean it in a mocking way, but that's exactly how Marley took it and she didn't appreciate it. Her mind was doing a 180 and she couldn't help but stick up for the boy.

"He hasn't done anything to make me doubt him." Marley reasoned, tilting her head as well in a simple act of slight defiance.

He smiled at her attitude, sensing that maybe she was recuperating from the nightmare that appeared to have shaken her to her core. "Then why don't you trust him?"

Marley huffed, annoyed with the man's constant questions. She just wanted to leave, not to be forced to think about things she couldn't understand. "He hurt me."

"Who hurt you?"

Licking her lips, Marley shook her head, her eyes watering at the memories. "My mom's boyfriend."

Will nodded his head as he looked at her. It broke his heart to see her so upset. "Just one of them?"

"_All _of them." Marley confirmed before she broke down.

As Ryder turned the corner with both Emma and Cynthia, he began to hear the girl's sobs and quickly started jogging down the hallway. Ignoring Emma's pleas to stop, he yanked the door open and saw Will sitting on one bed just watching Marley cry on the other bed. It made him a little sick that Will seemed to be taking pleasure in her cries, but before he could walk over to the girl to try to comfort her, he was being pushed aside by Emma and then shooed out of the room completely by Will.

As Will shut the door behind him and Ryder, Marley started to sob and Ryder's heart broke into a million pieces. Again.

**I literally just wrote all of the responses to your comments and it took me an hour and I was so proud of myself. And as I was getting ready to upload it onto fanfic, I accidentally pressed 'don't save'. And now I'm just super frustrated with myself. **

**So instead of answering each of you which I would actually love to do because I love talking to you, I'm just going to say thank you. **

**Thank you to: **_ChuckNutz, Reflections of Twilight, TotalGleek16, iluvwillschuester, Panemaniac124, Bri Deene, and iheartart13. _**You guys are amazing and I apologize for being an idiot. **

**Either the next chapter or the one after than will be another court scene. I thought I'd warn you about that. Alright, well I'm really sorry again but I can't spend another hour rewriting the responses. I really need to sleep. I have the flu and have been up for almost 24 hours because I can't fall asleep. **

**Please review. You guys are always so amazing and I just can't believe I exited word without saving. **

**The next update will be on Wednesday and there are only 5 days until Glee which is awesome. Let's just hope the writers don't make this 'school shooting' into a joke. **

**Sorry again! **


	30. Chapter 30

Marley sat on her bed, staring out the open window as she thought about her biggest fear. Emma had asked her to think long and hard about it and even though it seemed obvious what her answer would be, Marley wasn't able to say it. Sure, it was a fear. She was afraid of sleazy men who only wanted her for her body, but there were many other things she was terrified of.

There was a knock on the door and as Marley turned slowly towards the door, Kitty walked in with an annoyed look on her face. She flopped down on the bed and stared at her expectantly.

"What?" Marley snapped after she realized that Kitty was going to stay silent. It was as if Kitty was judging her and the brunet hated it.

Kitty raised her eyebrows surprised before putting her hands up in defense. "You really do have your panties in a wad." She muttered tiredly, rolling her eyes slightly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Lady Bieber is out there pestering everybody within a five foot radius of the door." She mumbled rolling her eyes again, this time staring tiredly at Marley. Marley bit her lip to avoid a tiny smirk that was fighting to be seen, but she kept her composure and took a breath, waiting for Kitty to continue. "I'm supposed to ask if you're alright."

"I'm fine." Marley whispered, pulling her legs out for under her so they were now dangling off the side of the bed. Kitty watched as Marley turned to look out the window again, her eyes becoming distant. "What are you most afraid of?"

"Snakes." Kitty said quickly, narrowing her eyes as Marley giggled quietly. After a few seconds, she allowed herself to chuckle too and the two sat laughing to themselves for a few seconds before quieting down. "Letting people down." Kitty finally said, biting her lip as she did so. Although she felt like Marley had the ability to judge her for what she just admitted, Kitty really just felt free. "And never being good enough."

Marley nodded her head slowly, allowing the blonde's words to sink in. "Is that why you purge?" When Kitty nodded, Marley added, "And cut?"

"I purge because I want to be good enough and I cut because I just want to make sure I can still feel something." Kitty said truthfully, licking her lips as silence once again fell over them. "Well what about you?"

"What am I afraid of?" Marley asked to confirm that that was, in fact, what Kitty had wanted to hear. Kitty nodded her head and waited, watching as Marley scrunched her eyebrows slightly as she began to think long and hard about her answer. "I'm scared of a lot of things-everything."

"Why is Ryder outside?"

"Turns out, I'm afraid of him." Marley nodded along with her words, ignoring Kitty's confused expression. "Well, not him particularly but guys like him."

"That boy can't even kill an ant without crying for twenty four days." Kitty joked, rolling her eyes as she remembered the time Ryder had jumped onto the couch because there was a spider crawling around. "He seems pretty harmless to me."

Marley giggled and nodded her head. "Guys lie."

"Everybody lies, Marley."

"But once a guy starts to lie, he begins to think he can get away with more, take advantage of more." Marley justified, nodding her head once again. It was starting to give her a headache but she couldn't think of anything else to do, so she just kept nodding. "I guess I'm just afraid of being deceived." Kitty couldn't be sure, but she was pretty sure she heard Marley mumble, "again" under her breath.

"If you're lied to then you'll never appreciate the truth." Kitty said with a tiny smile on her face. Marley groaned and rolled her eyes making Kitty laugh. "I can be deep."

"That wasn't even deep." Marley let out, smiling slightly. "That was honestly one of the stupidest things I've ever heard."

"Hey!" Kitty yelped, crossing her arms defensively. "That was one of the wisest things I've ever said."

Marley shrugged nonchalantly. "I've heard wiser."

Kitty laughed and shook her head while standing up and reaching out for Marley's hand. "Let's go get something to eat."

"I don't think-."

"No," Kitty interjected firmly. "I'm hungry and there is no way in hell I am going out there by myself so Efron Junior can follow me around like a lost puppy. Get up."

"But Kitty, I-." Marley started but as she looked at Kitty she realized by the stern look on her friend's face that it was not up for negotiation. Groaning, Marley stood up and stretched, taking her time as she walked towards the bedroom door. "Is he really right outside?"

Kitty nodded and opened the door, watching as Ryder fell backwards into the room. Although it hurt like hell, Ryder couldn't help but laugh slightly as Kitty and Marley both started laughing. He sat up but remained seated as he rubbed his elbows to try to get them to stop hurting.

"So um, I was just-I was uh, just sitting down against your door because I uh, well, I got a little tired and needed to sit and your room was right here so I just, you know, sat down…" Ryder said quickly, creating an awkward environment that made Kitty want to smack him. She probably would've too if she wasn't scared that Marley might hit her in return.

"Smooth…" Kitty decided to mutter instead, shaking her head in disappointment. They had been 'dating' (Kitty didn't like to use such a strong word for two people who never even went on dates) for about two months and he still hadn't developed much swag. It made her wonder why good looks were wasted on him. "I almost believe everything that you just spit out." She added sarcastically, smirking as she saw him frown.

"You're kinda a bitch, you know that?" Ryder asked easily, still frowning in her direction. Kitty only smiled more obnoxiously and he found that the more he looked at her, the more his blood seemed to boil, so instead he chose to look up at Marley, who appeared to be less than pleased with him. "What?"

"She's not a _bitch,_ Ryder." Marley scolded, crossing her arms as Ryder shrugged nonchalantly. "You don't have to be a jerk."

"I'm not being a-." He started to defend himself, only to be cut off by Marley chuckling sarcastically. He took a deep breath before licking his lips and starting again. "I didn't _mean_ she was a bitch. It's a figure of speech, Marls."

Marley looked at him skeptically before she couldn't help but smile a little. Intrigued to see where he was going to take this, she continued. "A figure of speech for _what?" _

"Well, I just meant that..." He started before trailing off with his eyebrows scrunched. Both Marley and Kitty smirked as he thought long and hard about an apporiate way to continue the sentence. After groaning, he licked his lips and shook his head before looking back up at them. "I'm sorry, Kitty. You're a delight."

Even though she recognized the latter part was coated in sarcasm, Kitty smiled and nodded her head anyway. "It's alright, Biebs."

Ignoring her insult, or what he took as an insult, he turned towards Marley with a solemn look on his face. He watched as her smile turned into a small frown but he needed answers, however uncomfortable she may have felt. "Can I talk to you?"

Marley nodded her head as Kitty took it upon herself to leave the room and head towards the cafeteria by herself. Looking down at her feet she sighed before turning around so she could sit on her bed. She wasn't sure if she was relieved her disappointed when she realized Ryder was making no effort to sit next to her.

"Are you ok?" He asked once he realized that the only way she was going to talk was if she was prompted. He scooted himself farther back so his back was resting against the wall. "I mean, are you ok with me?"

"I'm just a little confused." Marley whispered so softly that Ryder thought he was only imagining that she had spoken. He looked over at her and watched as she immediately looked down when their eyes met. Blushing, she licked her lips and waited for another question to be fired her way.

"Confused about what?"

"Well, confused isn't really the right word." Marley said after moments of thinking. He was intimidating her and she didn't like it. "Scared fits better."

"Of me?" Ryder asked softly, his eyes staying glued to her regardless of the fact that she was clearly uncomfortable. "Why?"

"I just- I don't know." She sighed, shrugging her shoulders and sighing dramatically. Pushing her hair out of her face, she repositioned herself so her back was fully against the wall and her legs were crossed underneath her. "The thought of you scares me."

"The thought of me?" He questioned, his eyebrows seemingly attracted to each other considering they didn't appear to want to un-scrunch.

"I don't want you to hurt me."

Realization dawned on Ryder and he allowed his face to relax a little. It made him both angry and relieved to know that he hadn't done anything directly to get her to feel this way. "I'm not like-."

"I know, I know. Ok!?" Marley snapped, making him stop talking immediately. "I know you aren't like that and that I'm too 'screwed up' to see it but it's how I feel and I'm tired of people telling me it's wrong."

"Marls," He started softly, taking the time to stand up and walk over to where she was seated. Kneeling directly in front of where she was sitting, he smiled slightly. "Marley, you aren't crazy and you should never feel like you are, especially around me. I would never judge you."

"But-."

"I'm not finished." He interrupted, before continuing almost as if she hadn't interrupted in the first place. "I'm not like those guys, Marley. I'm not going to hurt you and I will spend forever trying to get you to realize that."

She couldn't say she believed him but as she looked at how genuine he seemed to be, she couldn't help but smile and lunge towards him to engulf him in a hug. Breathing in his scent, all thoughts of her dream fled her mind only to be replaced by the dreams she had for the two of them. They were only 16 and they had a lot to figure out but she couldn't help but picture what he'd look like in a tuxedo waiting anxiously for her to walk towards him down a long aisle.

"I promise." He added, before pulling away and kissing the tip of her nose. She scrunched her nose but allowed a smile to creep upon her face, trying her best to ignore the flutter in her heart.

"Well then I guess I'm looking forward to forever." She said, her heart beating faster when she saw a bright smile cross his face.

Licking his lips, he stood up holding his hand out for her to grab. "Can forever start in the cafeteria? I'm starving."

"Why is everyone so hungry?" Marley asked to herself but allowed him to pull her to her feet. "Fine, under one condition."

"Anything for Miss Rose." He tried his best to impersonate the British people she watched on Youtube but his accent was terrible and she tried her best to keep herself from laughing at him.

"Give me a piggy back?" She requested, turning him around and gripping onto his shoulders. Almost too easily, Ryder reached down and picked her up, happy with how light she was.

"It would be my pleasure." He said with a smile before started the walk out of the room and down the hallway, the world seemingly perfect for that short time.

**So I'm visiting my cousin this weekend and I'm going to try my best to get chapter 31 up tomorrow but I haven't even started writing it yet so we'll see. Don't be mad if I don't get to update and in that case I will update on Sunday night. Hope all is well with y'all. **

**Did anyone else cry whenever Ryder was in a scene last episode of Glee? I mean, every scene he was in just made me bawl my eyes out. **

**Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. I know that I didn't get to respond to previous comments and I'm so happy you guys commented again. So thanks to:: **

**Gillian Deverone: **I loved reading all of your comments. They honestly made my day. Thanks so much!

**Iluvwillschuester: **I'm sorry for making you cry. Haha. :) Did you watch Shooting Star? I wasn't sure if you watched it yet so I decided not to comment in the A/N besides Ryder. His parts just had to be mentioned because they made me cry. Thanks for reviewing and did you get my message on Tumblr? It had my kik on it. I don't really use it all that much though.

**Reflections of Twilight: **Haha thanks. At least now I know I'm not the only one. :)

**ChuckNutz: **Thanks so much for being so sweet! Your comments always make me smile and you're just so amazing and I love you. :)

**So that's it. I hope everyone is having an amazing weekend! I'm sure you all will. Thanks for reading and please review. **


	31. Chapter 31

Ryder breathed in deeply as he exited the car the next day, clenching and unclenching his fists with each step. It was pretty much like it was yesterday- people screamed and he looked down. The only difference was there was nobody holding his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Marley had stayed back at the rehab under his order because she was too stressed out to have to deal with his problems along with her own. He was regretting that now as Blaine walked beside him, getting ready to testify against him.

Blaine was making no effort to conceal himself. In fact, he tried to get in every picture he could so that the writers and reporters would _have_ to go through the effort of editing him out of said pictures. Regardless of how he felt about Ryder, he didn't think that anybody should have the right to invade his privacy like they were trying to do, especially at a time like this.

Once they got into the courtroom, Ryder was whisked away to a room with a long table and several chairs. He figured it was just Cynthia and she wanted to go over some last minute aspects of today's plan, but he was disappointed to see his dad standing there with a stern look on his face. It didn't bother Ryder. He had seen this I-know-better-than-you look on his face several times. It's practically his dad's natural look.

"Drop the charges." Bradley ordered, crossing his arms and staring at his son expectantly. Ryder thought back to the times when he had felt intimidated by this exact look, but he kept his composure and shook his head.

"You aren't even being charged." Ryder reasoned, his voice strong despite the fact that he was sweating all over the place. "I am."

"You don't get it, do you?" Bradley continued, stepping around Ryder like he was a hyena ready to pounce on his prey. "You go through with this, I am ruined. This family is _ruined_. Do you think anyone is going to want to do business with me from jail?"

Ryder looked at his feet, suddenly feeling guilty about what was going to happen. Just as he was about to give in, to say he'd stop, Marley's words filled his head. He didn't deserve this. "Do you think anyone is going to recruit me if I have to go to jail?"

Bradley chuckled darkly. "Ryder, you weren't going to be recruited. You sucked." It should have stung, but Ryder was used to that attitude from his father. "Your mother and sister are going to hate you for this."

"For what? Telling the truth?"

"This isn't about the truth!" Bradley screamed, clenching his fists in a way that made Ryder back up slowly. "This is about my life."

"What about my life!?" Ryder yelled back, annoyed with his dad's selfishness. He still wasn't even sure if dad was the right word to describe their relationship. "You ruined my life! You ruined everything! You took everything I had and stomped all over it! I had friends. I was going places and you ruined it by getting into a car you probably could barely even see and driving into another car!"

"No, Ryder." Bradley muttered calmly, his voice less amplified than his son's but still higher from its natural, soft tone. "You ruined it by befriending that fag. This is all on you. You got in the car with me. You agreed to switching seats."

Scrunching his eyebrows, Ryder stared at him confused for a few seconds. The relevance of whatever Bradley was going on about was questionable. "What are you even-? Blaine and Kurt are _people. _They aren't-. They aren't animals that you can just _train_. You can't just-. You can't change them to be something they're not and the fact that you even brought that up-. Did you-? Did you _mean_ to hit them?"

Bradley scoffed and shook his head, walking towards the door so he could leave and walk into the court room. "We're just lucky we can steer Blaine in the right direction now."

Ryder's mouth opened but he didn't say anything. Instead, he watched his father walk out of the room and towards his lawyer. Blaine entered their circle a few seconds later and turned to give Ryder a look he didn't entirely understand.

"You ready?" Cynthia asked, coming up behind Ryder. He jumped a little but allowed himself to relax as he nodded his head. He was ready; he just didn't want to be. Being under the impression that his best friend was going to testify against him was completely different than actually seeing it happen. "You'll be great."

Ryder scoffed and shook his head. "We've been over this. I don't even do anything…"

"Well, _I _think you're doing awesome." She cooed, patting his back as she led him down the aisle and towards their table in the front of the courtroom. Ryder sat down with a sigh, rubbing his eyes fiercely as he turned to look at his father. Blaine was sitting in the first row, directly behind Bradley, tapping his foot up and down with anxiety. Ryder sighed once more and starting drumming his fingers along the tabletop once more. With each touch his finger made, he felt more and more anxious.

"Order in the court room!" The bailiff screamed. As Ryder looked up, he noticed that there was a different man on duty. Instead of the pudgy guy that had been here yesterday, the man was large and muscular with a tiny mustache above his lip.

"Let's get today over with, shall we?" The judge asked, a few chuckles followed but Ryder wasn't sure why everyone found that funny. "Would the defense call their first witness to the stand?"

"The defense would like to call Blaine Anderson to the stand, your honor." Ryder's dad's lawyer said as he pushed his chair back and stood to his feet. Looking over, he saw his dad smirk at him. It was as if they were in the Lion King, but Ryder couldn't remember when or how his dad had turned from Mufasa into Scar. "State your name for the record."

Blaine sighed and licked his lips, something Ryder knew he did when he was slightly nervous. "Blaine Anderson."

It almost made Ryder chuckle at how confident Blaine's answer was when only a couple months ago he was walking around exclaiming that he was Blaine Warbler, a nickname Ryder couldn't even remember how he got in the first place. Smiling a little, Ryder looked up from the table and over at Blaine, who was still shaking his leg up and down.

"Were you at the party?" The lawyer asked, getting right down to business. Ryder knew where this was going. Blaine would confess that he had in fact seen Ryder get into the car even though Ryder and his dad knew that was impossible.

"Yes I was." Blaine answered simply.

"And had Mr. Lynn had a lot to drink that night?"

Blaine nodded his head before answering with words. "Yes. _Bradley_ Lynn was pretty wasted."

"And Ryder?"

"Ryder was completely sober." Blaine confirmed, sending Ryder a look that he couldn't read. It made Ryder uncomfortable how Blaine could keep his face so calm and blank when he was seconds away from ruining Ryder's life.

"And you saw the two get into the car?" The guy continued, unaware of how uneasy Ryder was feeling sitting in the chair, not that he would have cared if he really did know. Ryder looked down and licked his lips, unhappy with the flow of this conversation.

"Yeah." Blaine muttered, turning back towards the lawyer interrogating him. Although he wasn't very comfortable with the position he was in, he felt the need to elaborate. "Kurt and I were walking out of the party towards Burt's car when Ryder and his dad left the party. We said goodbye."

"So then you saw Ryder getting into the driver's seat?"

Ryder felt his heart stop as he waited to hear Blaine's answer. Regardless of the fact that he _knew_ what Blaine was going to say, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of hope that maybe, just maybe his friend would give him the benefit of the doubt; that'd he confess that he didn't remember clearly; that he had gotten hit in the head. He could hear his heart pounding and he wondered if everyone in the room could hear it too. It almost seemed impossible that they couldn't.

"No." Blaine finally said, making Ryder and everyone else in the courtroom jerk their head up in his direction. "I saw Mr. Lynn stumble towards the car and push Ryder away from the driver's seat."

Gasps filled the room and Ryder wasn't sure if he had contributed to the noise or not. It didn't feel real. Marley was going to come bouncing into his room any second now and tell him he had to get ready. This wasn't real. It couldn't have been.

"Order!" The judge screamed, pounding his mallet on the wooden surface in front of him. Although it took some minutes, the court finally settled and all eyes and ears were on Blaine once more.

"I saw Mr. Lynn drive the car away." Blaine repeated in different words, rubbing his head as Bradley's attorney looked at him angrily.

After throwing his papers violently onto the table top in front of him, Bradley's lawyer finally spoke. "No further questions, your honor."

"Would the prosecution like to ask the witness any further questions?" The judge asked, his tired tone once again being used. Ryder licked his lips and Cynthia stood up, seemingly dumbfounded.

"Uh… no further questions, your honor." Cynthia finally spoke, looking at her papers with a confused expression on her face. As she sat down, she whispered to Ryder, "We might have just won this case."

**X X X **

Marley couldn't do anything but pace back and forth in front of the television, ignoring the complaints of Sam and Jake who were trying their hardest to watch the rest of 'The Hangover', a movie they had found hidden in one of Mr. Schue's desk drawer. Her nerves were shot and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep still.

"What's going on with her?" Kitty asked, sitting in the vacant seat between Jake and Sam on the couch. Jake only scoffed, craning his head one way as Marley blocked his view once again. His neck was growing tired as he had to keep moving back and forth in order to see Bradley Cooper get scratched by a tiger.

"She enjoys ruining our movies." Sam muttered slightly, placing a hand on his forehead to try to get himself to calm down. "Would you just move?"

"I am moving." Marley answered tiredly, running a hand through her lightly curled hair. "I don't understand how you guys can just sit there and watch some classless movie about a bunch of dumbasses who lose their friend."

"It's easy." Jake muttered, craning his head again before finally giving up and leaning back against the couch once more. "You should really give it a try."

"Seriously, just sit down." Kitty mumbled, standing up and putting her hands on Marley's shoulders. Although she was unhappy with the interruption, Marley couldn't help but feel a little grateful. "You're giving me a head ache."

"But what if-?"

"Marley, stop." Kitty interrupted, leading Marley over to where she had just been sitting and pushing her down. "He's going to be fine, absolutely fine."

"I should be there."

"No you shouldn't."

"Yes I-." Marley started to protest before she heard the sound of the front door open and slam shut. Standing to her feet far too quickly, she took off running out of the room and down the hallway, stopping only when she was caught by Ryder. Hugging him, she nuzzled her head into his neck, smiling as his scent filled her nose.

"Woah." He exclaimed, holding onto the railing on the side of the wall to stead himself as Marley practically attacked him. "What's going on?"

"How did it go?" She asked breathlessly, pulling away and fixing her hair so it was no longer flying all over the place. Cynthia came up behind them with a giant smile on her face, Blaine right behind her.

"We uh… we won." Ryder mumbled, stilling attempting to process the information. "Blaine testified and my dad and his lawyer had to rethink everything. We were about to leave and prep for tomorrow's stuff when my dad plead guilty… literally about an hour ago."

"So the jury-?"

"Didn't have to do anything." Ryder finished for her, smiling down at her as she buried her face in his chest.

Marley pulled away as she thought of something. "Wait, what did Blaine say?"

"I uh… he just said that he saw my dad get into the driver's seat." Ryder shrugged pulling her towards him once again.

"Why?"

"I have no idea." Ryder mumble truthfully, looking over Marley's head to try to catch a glimpse of his ex-friend, or friend, he wasn't sure.

Blaine had already walked away and locked his bedroom door behind him. After eavesdropping on Ryder talking to his dad in the courtroom, Blaine was pretty sure he had been lied to by almost everyone he talked to. Even Burt had lied, involuntarily but it was still a lie. All he wanted to do now was sleep away his confusion and never wake up again.

**So I'm thinking 3 or 4 more chapters and then 'Lean on me' is finito. Maybe I'll add an epilogue but I'm pretty sure I have an idea for a sequel, so we'll see. I'm going to start updating 'Crash Into Me' again in about a week or two. **

**Thanks to: **

**Ryley4ever: **Thanks so much bud! I'm so happy you read this all in a day. That's so impressive and awesome and you totally deserve an award. If I could bake you brownies, I totally would. I would love to cuddle Sam. He's so adorable! :) Thanks so much for the comment and for being so sweet. You're amazing.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Thanks :). Rachel is going to be in it in one of the next chapters but other than that, none of the old characters are going to be in _this_ story. If a sequel gets written though, they'll be in there. Thanks again for the comment.

**Iheartart13: **I hope you did amazing at cheerleading! Did you make the team!? That's so awesome! I do gymnastics and wanted to try cheerleading but my coach said no. Haha. Sucks for me. :P That's fine. You don't have to apologize. I understand you have a life. :) Thanks for being so sweet. I honestly didn't even realized that you guys could tell if I was stressed or not. Whoopsies. :P Ryder makes me cry every time too. I've only watched it one and a half times. I cry too much to handle it. Haha. Love you too! :)

**Reflections of Twilight: **Well there I go again being stupid. Haha. :P my bad. I'll really have to start working on that, won't I? I know me too! I must have screamed about 10 times. I was like "No! Stay still! Why are you not listening to me!?" Haha. The episode was crazy good and I'm so happy they didn't butcher it.

**ChuckNutz: **I just want to know whose phone was ringing. I'm thinking it's Unique. I don't want it to be because I like the whole 'I may be transgender, but that doesn't mean I can't have guy friends.' You know? Thanks so much for being so sweet to me! It's so ridiculous how nice you are! I'm sorry for not updating on Sunday by the way. I was really super busy with homework.

**OneHundredPercentInsane: **I love your username! It totally describes me. :) You are totally not alone! I honestly get so depressed whenever Ryder _frowns_ let alone cries. He's just so innocent and adorable. I just can't handle when he's sad. Haha, I'm trying to write the sequel. I just have to decide if I want it in high school or college.

**Iluvwillschuester: **Thanks! :) You are so nice and amazing and I honestly don't deserve your comments because my computer never lets me comment on anything! (That might have changed though. I have to check so update soon!) Have fun with your homework! Try not to get too stressed out though. You can do this! You got it. :)

**Next update will be on Saturday, hopefully but I may have to make it Sunday. It really just depends. Thanks so much for reading and commenting and being amazing! You truly are outstanding and I love you all, every single one. **

**Also, only 24 hours until Glee which makes me so happy. :) SORRY FOR TYPOS OR OTHER THINGS THAT MAKE THIS HARD TO READ! **


	32. Chapter 32

"Why are we-?" Ryder started, trailing off as a girl who was wearing probably one of the most revealing dresses he had ever seen entered the screen. Marley laughed as he finished his complaining and finally shut up. She figured it'd only be a matter of time until he realized he could tolerate this show as well. "Nevermind." He mumbled, smirking as the girl started to dance.

"Hey Ryder?" She asked, a teasing smile on her face that only grew as he ignored her. "Ryder!"

Jumping slightly and shaking his head, he turned towards her with his eyebrows scrunched. "Yeah?"

"You're drooling." She joked, only laughing harder when his face became red. Licking his lips, he cleared his throat and shook his head.

"You suck." Ryder mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at him questioningly. He appreciated the time he could spend with her without having to worry about how the jury was going to vote. They had been spending a lot of time together, ever second of every day and it hardly seemed like enough. It was obvious their time together was going to come to an end sooner or later and even if they were both lucky to get out soon, they didn't live close to each other.

Their relationship was here and now and at the moment, he was fine with that because at least there _was _a relationship.

"How so?" She asked, scrunching her eyebrows.

"You put this on so you can see that Drew H- whatever his name is-."

Marley smiled and interrupted, "Derek Hough."

"…dance with his shirt off and you won't even let me look at his partner." Ryder continued complaining as if Marley had never said anything. Licking his lips he pouted. "It's not fair, really."

"But there's a difference." Marley argued, crossing her arms in an attempt to seem confident and strong though her smile was hinting she was anything but. "Derek is hot, as are you." She giggled as a cocky smile made its way to Ryder's face. "Kelly Pickler is gorgeous and I'm not."

His face relaxed and he leaned towards her, pushing her so her back was against the couch cushion and he was leaning over her. "You're beautiful."

"Please put your tongues away." Kitty mumbled tiredly as she sat down on the arm of the couch by their heads. Ryder groaned and sat up, pulling Marley up with him. "Can you _move?"_ She spat in Marley's direction pushing her slightly with her shoulder. "I would like to sit down."

"What's your problem?" Ryder asked bitterly even though he was slightly grateful Marley moved closer to him. Honestly, ever since last week when the case had finished Kitty seemed to either insult or order everyone else around. It may have been happening before the case ever started, but he had been preoccupied and therefore oblivious. Regardless, it was really starting to make his blood boil.

Kitty scoffed and shook her head in his direction before refocusing her attention on the television. "There wouldn't _be_ a problem if-."

"Hey guys!" Sam bellowed, walking into the room with a bright smile on his face. He stuffed his hands in his pocket and walked over to the couch. "Excuse me."

Marley scooted over once more, fitting perfectly into Ryder's side as Sam sat in between her and Kitty. Sighing as relief seemed to course through him, Sam stretched his arms behind the two girls, a satisfying smirk taking over his features. "Hey ladies."

"You sicken me." Kitty muttered, sticking her nose up in his direction.

"She's really starting to piss-." Ryder started to whisper into Marley's ear only to be cut off with her lips pressed against his. As she pulled away seconds later, much to his dismay, he couldn't help but smile slightly. "What was that for?"

"Just let it go." She whispered calmly as she nuzzled her forehead into his chest. "It's just who she is." As she looked up at him, she sighed and shook her head. "And before you say she shouldn't be a bitch, she isn't."

"I wasn't going-." He started before he saw the skeptical look she was sporting. With a defeated sigh, he added, "Alright, so I was. But it's the truth."

"She just has a lot going on." Marley justified, being sure to keep her volume low so Kitty wasn't aware that she was being talked about.

"We _all_ do." He argued before shaking his head. Bending down he connected their lips once more. It was ironic how addicted he seemed to be to her lips when he was currently in a rehab center for something not even associated with addiction.

Marley smiled into his kiss but pulled away for a few brief moments so she could allow his words to sink in. A feeling of pride ran through her accompanied by a feeling of anxiety as she came to realize an important fact. "_You_ don't anymore."

"Sure I do." Ryder reasoned, shrugging his shoulders as he rested his forehead on hers. "I'm a kid with a jerk for a dad. Just call me Mr. Problems." Looking past her head quickly, he took note of the time and stood up, stretching on his way up. It may have been shameful, but Marley couldn't tear her eyes away from the way his shirt slid up slightly, revealing his abs. "I have to go talk to Schue."

"Why?" Marley asked, shaking her head to distract herself from his body. Looking up as he began straightening his shirt (much to her dismay) she licked her lips and tilted her head to the side. "You don't normally meet with him on Mondays."

Ryder shrugged and turned on his heel. "I'll talk to you later."

"Please don't." Kitty muttered distastefully, shaking her head with a look of pure hatred on her face. He refrained from turning around and flipping her off, instead settling for a bitter glare in her direction as he left the room. Marley, on the other hand, despite her normally accepting and forgiving manner, turned towards Kitty with a look that mirrored the one on the blonde's face. "_What?" _

"I defend you all the time, you know that?" Marley snapped, making Sam regret ever sitting in between the two girls. "You make it really, _really _hard to do that sometimes."

"Nobody asked you to."

"That's not true." Sam interjected, leaning forward so neither of the two girls could really see each other anymore. "I ask her to defend you all the time."

"You shouldn't have to ask me to defend you. That's just what friends do." Marley reasoned easily before turning her attention to Sam. "The only time you brought up Kitty with me was when you insisted I kill her."

Kitty scoffed before sarcastically adding, "Gee. Thanks Sam."

**X X X **

"Given the circumstances, I'd like to keep you here." Will continued to tell Ryder as much information as he knew. However, Ryder wasn't really following. Too many legal terms were being thrown his way and even though he had spent some time in the courtroom the last few weeks, he couldn't understand every word the lawyers said. "However, the state's psych test they gave you a couple days after the trial stated that you were above qualified to be released."

"So I… I get to go home?" Ryder asked slowly, unsure if what he was hearing was the truth. He wasn't ready to get excited if he truly had been wrong about it in the first place. Will merely nodded his head, his hands folded on top of the red folder on this desk. "So when do we leave?"

"Your mom is going to be here on Friday to pick you up." Will explained, scrunching his eyebrows slightly. Ryder, too, seemed to be slightly confused.

"So…" Ryder began, drawing out the word longer than necessary as he tried to decide how to phrase his question. "Why isn't Cynthia just picking up Marley..?"

Will's eyes widened for a few brief seconds before he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Ryder, Marley isn't ready to leave. You are."

"No…" Ryder shook his head, unable to comprehend why Mr. Schuester was being so cruel. Sure, he knew that Will had never liked the idea of the two dating, but to just do this to them had to be some sort of illegal. It just had to be. "Marley is the only reason I went through with the case. She's who kept telling me that everyone would be ok."

"Ryder, _you_ made you strong. Sure, Marley helped; but the trial? That was all you."

Ryder didn't appreciate the way Will was pointing at him as if he was some sort of brilliant person that had overcome several obstacles all on his own. It wasn't like that at all. There were several times when he wanted to give up and just drop the case so he could spend the rest of his life wallowing in the comfort of the rehab. You know who talked him out of it? Marley. She was his strength. She kept him going. She knew more than he ever did.

It was never him. It was Marley.

"Then no." Ryder began, shaking his head as he stood up. "I don't want to go. I'll wait until Marley is ready too."

Will sighed and stood up as well, trying his best to calm the boy. "Ry, your mom already signed the paperwork. According to the state, you _have_ to leave when she comes to pick you up."

"Then- then call her and tell her to stay home." Ryder insisted, beginning to pace back and forth. "I can't leave without Marley. She's the only-. I just can't."

"You are ready for this, Ryder." Will soothed, standing in front of him so he had to stand still. "You are going to leave here on Friday and you're going to be fine. Every Tuesday and Saturday, you'll come here to talk to me. You'll see Marley then."

"But I don't want to leave…" Ryder mumbled shaking his head. "I don't want to leave her here. That's not fair. I refuse to leave without her."

As Ryder's words sank in and the door slammed behind him, Will realized his worst fear had come true. His worst experience was happening again. He had been through this situation before, two lovers who had no intention of leaving each other, but he still had no idea how to handle it. The first time ended in tragedy, one he would never forget.

It had played out just like this, only years prior. The only difference was their names. Rachel had been replaced with Marley and Finn had taken the form of Ryder.

What plagued Will wasn't the fact that it _was_ happening, but the fact he had allowed it to. In short, the warning signs were there but Will had ignored them, choosing instead to focus on the positive side of things. It was Will's fault.

All of it was Will's fault.

**So I'm really sorry for how late this is, even though I did manage to get it up on a Wednesday. My account was hacked, but now all is well in the world because I have gotten it back. :) Next time, I'll try not to make my password my name. **

**I'm predicting two, maybe three, more chapters without an epilogue seeing as I'm writing to a sequel, most likely. **

**Anyways, thanks to::**

**Iheartart13: **Haha Aww thanks! That's one of the things I struggle with, actually. Making things flow is so hard. But thanks. :) Congrats on varsity. That's so awesome!

**10pandasrule10: **Thanks so much for the comment and for being so nice. :) They do that a lot. He once went about 4 or 5 episodes and only said like 3 lines in all. I hate how now they have to neglect some characters so they can fit everyone in. It kinda sucks. Luckily, I love Ryder enough that I smile whenever he is just on the screen. Lol.

**That other guest: **Haha, the name you used made me laugh. :) Thanks so much! You're so amazing for reading this in a week. I'm impressed. Thanks for the comment! :)

**Khfan12: **Thanks so much for the comment! Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

**Gillian Deverone: **Hahahaha. I've been thinking the same thing for _a while…_ in this story and on the show. :)

**ChuckNutz: **THANK YOU SO MUCH! You always write the nicest comments. I'm looking forward to the sequel as well. I have a lot of ideas for it. Thanks for the comment. They literally always make me smile.

**Ryley4ever: **Well now I _have _to write a sequel. I will not be responsible for your death. :) Thanks for the comment and for saying that. You're amazing. Thank you SO much! :)

**Reflections of Twilight: **I was terrified during the shooting as well. It was the first episode of any tv show that actually made me sit up at night and _think._ It was horrifying. I don't know. I think Katie may be Unique. Thanks for the comment, as always.

**So thanks to EVERYONE who reads, not just the people who comment. Y'all are all so amazing and I love each and every one of you. Remember 2-3 more chapters, unless I have to split one of them into 2, which now that I think about it, might happen. **

**Anyhow, please review. It would make me so totally happy and I'd love you forever. (Even more than I already do.)**


	33. Chapter 33

"_Mr. Schue!" They both groaned with the intent of getting the man to change his mind. It wasn't going to happen though. They may have been in love but Mr. Schuester was stubborn and his opinion would not be swayed to match the hearts of two obsessive teenagers. "You have to understand…" _

"_I do understand." Will assured them, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he turned to face them. They were clearly upset; her hair was greasier than normal and his eyes were droopier. It was as if they had both stayed up all night thinking about the 'doom' Will was embedding upon them. "You guys will still see each other though." _

"_She'll never come visit me." Finn pleaded, his bottom lip sticking out slightly as if begging Mr. Schuester to have sympathy upon him. Rachel nodded her head along with Finn's words unable to deny the truth behind them. "See?! She even knows it." _

_Will sighed and rubbed his forehead. When they had each arrived, they had shown promise of getting better without even knowing each other. Neither of them wanted to be here and that alone motivated them to do whatever they could to be considered fit to leave behind the rehab. Together, however, they were unstoppable. Each action either of them took made the other stronger. A match made in heaven was what Will had considered them. _

"_Why can't I just take him with me?" Rachel asked with her head tilted to the side innocently. She had been denied a lot in life but never had she lost the innocence children were born with. In that respect, Will would have considered her an inspiration. "I won't let him hurt anyone." _

"_Rachel, it's not that easy." Will commented, his eyes shifting to the side as some boy reached up to hit Will's new boss. There was so much to do and it would be a lie to say that his new job wasn't stressing him out, but in his opinion it was worth it. _

"_I promise though." _

**X X X**

"You just have to sign here." Will instructed, holding the thin white packet in front of Ryder. He seemed uninterested and upset, but Will had no choice. It was his job to make sure they were ready for the outside world and Ryder was. He just didn't know it. "You will be fine, Ryder."

Ryder sighed and nodded his head slowly. "I know that. I was fine before everything happened and I know I'll be fine when I leave." Playing with the pen in between his fingers, he sighed again, staring at the paper as if he was signing his life away. "It's just-. I mean, how do I know that _she_ will be fine?"

"You just have to have faith." Will answered simply as best he could.

Ryder only chuckled dryly while shaking his head. "Is that what your fortune cookie said?" Licking his lips once more, he placed the pen's tip on the paper and began to sign his name. The more he signed, the bigger the feeling of guilt became.

Although he was a little disheartened by Ryder's response, Will smiled along and watched as Ryder seemed to struggle with his last name. It wasn't that he couldn't write it; it was just the fact he didn't _want_ to write it.

"I just…" Ryder started as he placed the pen on the table and looked up at Will's disappointed face. "I mean, I really think she'd be fine."

Will groaned and placed his hand to his forehead. Ryder had spent the last ten minutes arguing the same argument: Let Marley out or let Ryder stay. It was simple really, or at least that's how it appeared to Ryder. He didn't mind if he had to stay for a few more months. As long as it meant he could be with Marley, he'd do anything. "Listen, Ryder. Marley needs stability right now. She needs to be in a place where things are normal."

"She can stay at my house." Ryder offered excitedly. "Actually, on second thought my house is probable going to be more not normal than ever. But she could still stay with me and I can be her stability."

"You need to hear me when I say this." Will began, only to be cut off by the few words that sent a chill down his spine.

"But I promise…"

**X X X **

"_Hey Will." A certain red head greeted as she sat down next to him in her normal seat in the cafeteria. Immediately, his smile brightened which made him wonder why she of all people had this effect on him. "How are you holding up?" _

_Will smiled again as he put a piece of bread into his mouth. "You really want to hear the drama?" He tested with his eyebrows tilted upward in a teasing fashion. "Like, you really, _really _want to know?" _

"_Always." She responded simply, her smile growing as intrigue set in. _

"_Well, Rachel-." He began before he heard the cafeteria door slam to a shut. It wasn't a door that was ever supposed to be closed let alone slam shut. Chills ran through him as Finn glared at his being. "Hey Finn." _

_Finn was still quite a distance away but the silence in the cafeteria made it easy to hear Finn mumbling profanities under his breath. "Schuester!" He finally yelled when he was close enough to pound his fist on the table Will was sitting at. "I personally don't like you going behind my back like this." _

_Will licked his lips as his nerves got the best of him. Trying his best to keep his voice steady, he started his long drawn out explanation of what was going ot happen, hoping that the security guards would enter the room shortly. "I didn't go behind your back bud. Don't you want Rachel to be happy?" _

"_She's happy with _me."_ Finn retorted, trying his best to even his breathing the way the man in front of him had taught him to weeks earlier. "She's not happy out there! They'll judge her! They'll make her cry and then they'll break her. They don't care about her like I do. _You_ don't care about her like I do." _

"_She's ready for this, Finn." Will continued, unfazed by the outburst Finn was having. He'd had it many times before and Will wasn't as threatened as he had been the first time. "You need to let her grow as a person. She can't do that here anymore." _

"_You're wrong." Finn seethed, pointing at Will as if he was the devil himself. "And I'm going to prove it to you." Turning around, he kicked a vacant chair over and stalked towards the cafeteria doors. "You'll regret this Schuester with every bone in your body. I swear to you." _

**X X X **

"Hey Mr. Schue!" Marley called as she quickened her pace to catch up to him in the hallway. Ryder was taking a nap and Kitty was off somewhere with Jake probably indulging in an activity that involved too much touching for Marley's liking, so to say the least she was bored. "Can I maybe talk to you for a little bit?"

"Marley…" Will started tiredly, throwing his head back slightly in aggravation. "If this is about Ryder then-."

"No." She interrupted him with a quick head shake. "No, it's uh... it's not. Well not really. It's about me."

Will gave her a once over before nodding his head and opening his office door. He pushed it open just enough to walk in and then followed behind her, shutting the door behind him. As he sat down, he looked over at the girl and nodded his head as a signal that she could start talking. "Go ahead."

"Well, it kinda is about Ryder." Marley mumbled meekly, ducking her head as Mr. Schue sucked in an aggravated breath. "I just… I want to know what _I _can do to get out of her too."

"Look, Marley. I know you think you're ready to leave and you may very well be right, but as far as I can see, you aren't." Will lectured eyeing her carefully for any sign of distress. All she did was suck in a shaky breath and nod her head. "You will be ready though some day. It's just not today."

As her eyes watered, she blinked a few times. "I know that I'm not ready to leave today or even on Friday. I just want to know _how_ I can get better so I can leave." A few more shaky breaths later, and Will had fallen for her sad-girl charm. "I just- I want him to be ok. I really do. I want him to be able to get better outside of here and I'm really proud of him, but I want to be proud of me too. But until that happens, I want to be selfish. I have the _right_ to be selfish. I want him to stay here and since that doesn't seem to be a possibility I want to know how I can make myself better faster so I don't have to b separated from him too long."

At the speed she was talking, it made Will almost proud to be able to follow it. His face softened and he reached out to pat her arm comfortingly. She flinched slightly before putting a hand to her face in embarrassment. "You don't have to do anything, Marley. It's _my_ job to make you comfortable around males again. All you have to do is be honest with me and I'll try my best to make sure your time here is speedy."

"I don't know- I don't know why I keep doing this." Marley motioned, alluding to her uneasiness when he touched her. "I know you aren't going to hurt me but I just- it's a reaction and I can't control it."

"We'll get there, Marley." Will soothed, once more patting her arm in a friendly manner. "It'll take some time, but we'll get there."

"And-and you'll make sure he doesn't get hurt out there?" Marley asked softly, biting her lip as she thought for a few seconds. "Like you'll try your best to make sure he knows that the people who will judge him are just jerks and that he'll be fine all by himself?"

"I'll do my best." Will assured her. "You'll still be able to see him, though. And you can text him and Skype him and whatever else you kids are capable of doing these days."

Marley sniffled and nodding her head quickly, trying her best to let his words reassure her. Unfortunately, they didn't. "You're wrong." Marley whispered, shaking her head sadly. "He'll leave and meet some girl who doesn't have problems." As she stood up and walked to the door, she turned around and mumbled. "I'm going to regret letting him go, Mr. Schue. I swear I am."

**X X X **

"_Will!" A man screamed and Will was able to pinpoint the sound coming from a room Will knew well. It was Finn's room and he had been called there several times to make sure Finn wasn't doing anything dangerous. The man's voice was more panicked than normal so Will quickened his pace. "Will!" _

_Will turned into the room, scanning it briefly before a feeling of disgust and fear coursed through his veins. Blood surrounded one body that was still moving, while the figure of a boy hung above it from a ceiling fan. The man who had been calling him, motioned him towards the body of the girl and instructed him to place his hands over one of the wounds. There were a total of five. _

"_Call- Call 911!" Will hurried, trying his best to stop as much bleeding as he possibly could. The girl's breathing was sporadic which was making it even harder to keep his hands still, as if he already wasn't shaking enough. "Rachel, Rachel? I need to stay with me. You hear me? Just stay with me." _

"_I-I-I did-n't me-ean to ma-ke hi-i-im mad-d." She managed to spit out and Will sighed with a nod of his head. "C-can-n you-u ma-make su-re th-at he i-is al-ri-right?" _

_Will looked up at the boy, his heart sinking at the pale color to his face. Nodding his head, he looked back down at Rachel. "He'll be fine. You just have to- you have to try your best to stay awake." _

"_I-i-it-t hu-r-t-t-s." She stuttered, a single tear rolling down her face. It amazed Will how strong she seemed to be right now. Knowing him, he'd be crying like a baby at the moment even though it'd just make matters worse. _

"_Sh…" He said, running a hand over her smooth hair. She shut her eyes and nodded her head, forcing him to tap on her cheek slightly to make sure she'd stay awake for him. "Don't hurt yourself, alright? You'll be healthy in no time. You just have to-you have to stay awake. Remember? Keep your eyes open." _

_Rachel nodded and Will knew her determination wouldn't end just because of five stab wounds. Her endurance and her will power would keep her awake. Mentally, she'd get through this. He knew that much. But it wasn't just her mental state that was a factor in this situation. Her body had been opened and her life was draining. He projected it'd be minutes until her body gave up the fight and her mind would soon follow. _

_Her eyes fluttered closed and as they did, Will stopped smoothing her hair. Instead, he chose to slap her face a few times softly in order to wake her up from the darkness. He expected to see her eyes open slowly, to look up at him with the innocence that had seen in her since she got here. But he'd never see those brown eyes again. Nor would he see her smile, or hear her laugh, and it wasn't even her choice. _

_It had been Finn's, the boy who had been so broken to feel the need to do this horrible act. The boy felt cornered, like a dog. It wasn't Finn's fault that he had been constantly beaten by practically everyone he grew up with. There was only one way he knew how to act. He'd fight back until the end and this was his final argument. It pained Will to know that he had won. _

_Paramedics flooded the room and Will was pushed aside, only to run into the dresser that was behind him. Turning, he saw a note scribbled on with sloppy handwriting. _

**X X X**

As Marley shut the door behind her, Will reached into his desk, a familiar piece of paper slipping in between his fingers.

_Dear Mr. Schuester, _

_I'm sorry. I really didn't want to have to do this. It was the last thing I wanted. You have to understand though. Rachel was my everything and you tried to take that away from me. _

_You were trying to put her into a world where anyone who is different is an outcast. There's not room for people like us in the society people have created. There never was room, which is why we were sent here. We were meant to find each other. We were meant to save each other. You may be ok with watching her try to survive out there in the cruel world, but I love her and I'm not about to let you ruin her. _

_Like I said, she's my everything. Wherever she goes, I will go too and if you ask her she'll say the same thing. I didn't want to do this. I really didn't. But like I said, you gave me no choice. _

_I hope you understand. _

_Sincerely, Finn Hudson. _

_PS: I told you you'd regret this. This isn't my fault; it's yours. _

**X X X **

**So that's this chapter. Pretty intense, huh? I hope it wasn't too predictable, even if I'm pretty sure it was. Haha. I also hope I did this type of thing justice. My friend's brother committed suicide a few years ago and I'm pretty sure it didn't go like this, but I tried my best to make sure it was at least a little bit accurate. **

**I'm totally going to take the time to be a little cliché and put one of those things they do at the end of TV episodes by saying that if you're thinking of suicide or know someone who is thinking of suicide, you should call : 1-800-273-2433. You don't have to go through life alone. **

**Anyway, thanks to the following amazing people for commenting on my last chapter. You are all amazing. **

**Iheartart: **I LOVE DEREK HOUGH! TAKE THAT BACK! He does seem a little cranky though lately. He's normally so sweet though. No…. I'm not rooting for Zendaya. She's really good but I'm totally rooting for Kellie and the bachelor guy. :P Thanks so much for being so sweet and for commenting.

**Gillian Deverone: **Did you guess or was what happened different than what you thought? I'm pretty sure you knew though. :) Thanks so much again for the comments. :)

**ChuckNutz: **I'm sorry for giving you a heart attack. Lol. Thank you SO much for saying that. You are truly the best person ever and I love you. Haha, I was ready to let you hurt someone. Lol. THANKS AGAIN FOR THE AMAZING COMMENTS! YOU'RE AWESOME!

**Adelaide17Frost: **Thanks so much for reading and commenting on this story. I agree with you. I want Ryley so bad and it bothers me that I find Kyder cute now because of the last episode. They are cute and so are Jarley… but Ryley can be amazing. I just hope the writers realize that soon.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Aww sorry for almost making you cry, even though that kinda makes me smile and just really happy. Thanks for the comment! You're truly awesome. :)

**Ryley4ever: **Haha. I'm working on coming up with ideas now for the sequel. It won't be until the summer though. Thank you so much for your comments. You're absolutely amazing.

**Khfan12: **As long as you comment, you shall be mentioned. :) Thank you so much for saying that. That's so nice. :) I heard the rumors and I've seen the pictures. They're all over tumblr. I think they're adorable and I really hope it's true but I also wouldn't mind if they're just really good friends. I really do think they're dating though.

**Reflections of Twilight: **I KNOW! I was just thinking the same thing! I can't believe it's already 33 chapters now. The cat-fish plotline is perfect, especially since he's such a great actor, but did they really need to make him be molested? I mean, it fits with his personality and all but it made my heart hurt when he was telling everyone. It's just so sad…

**chavesalfaroA: **I just did! :) Everyone was asking me about Finchel so I felt the need to write an entire chapter about it. :)

**10pandasrule10: **I KNOW! He was so perfect in all of the songs he sang. He's such a cutie. Blake is absolutely amazing and I love Ryder. I just really, really love when he's featured in numbers and plotlines. Thanks for reviewing.

**Guest101: **Haha, it's ok. Not everyone is Ryley fans. Are you Jarley? :) Thanks so much, though, for actually reading this story even though you don't like the main characters. That's so awesome and it means a lot?

**Angelina Johnson: **Thanks for commenting! :) I actually wasn't entirely sure _what_ happened with Finchel until I started writing this chapter. It wasn't originally going to go this way, but it worked. Thanks again for commenting. :)

**Thanks again to everyone who has been reading and commenting. You are all amazing and I love you all with all my heart. Please keep commenting and I'll try my best to get the next chapter up on Wednesday. **


	34. Chapter 34

_**To the anon on Tumblr: **__Thanks for the suggestion! I love it! I think I'm going to save it for the sequel though. :)_

**X X X **

Ryder sat on the couch with his hands in between his knees trying his best to keep himself warm. It had been a week of pure hell with all of the small moments he'd had with Marley that he knew he'd never be able to have again. To make matters worse, it was freezing outside and since the heater had stopped it was now freezing wherever Ryder didn't go without a blanket.

Thankfully, he had Marley to cuddle with and for the moment, the world seemed perfect. "I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow." Marley whispered staring blankly in front of her. Ryder turned his head to look at her before sighing and nodding his head.

"I'm not leaving forever." He mumbled shaking his head. "I have to come back two days a week."

"Who am I supposed to cuddle with when you leave?" Marley asked softly, shifting her head up so she could look at his face. "It _is_ freezing, you know."

Ryder licked his lips and nodded his head before standing up and grabbing onto her hand. Without question, she followed him wherever he lead her, which was to his room.

"Do you need help packing or something?" She asked, cocking her head to the side as she sat down on his bed. When he shook his head, she smiled and gave him a questioning look. "Then why are we here?"

"I uh… I want to show you something." He said, going over to the closet and pulling out a guitar. "You remember when you told me that you wanted to learn?"

Her eyes widened as she nodded her head excitedly. The fact he remembered made her want to blush but she tried not to as she scooted over so he could sit down as well. "What song are you going to teach me?"

He chuckled and shook his head as he began randomly strumming. "Slow down, Marls." He muttered, smiling wider as he saw her smile falter slightly. "I want to _show_ you something first."

Sighing, she waited for him to continue, but instead he just sat there staring at her with a smile on his face. "Well go on. Show me." Motioning her arms to match her words, she stared at him expectantly.

Chuckling once more, he looked down at the guitar and strummed, moving his fingers as the notes changed. "It'll probably be a little bad but I just, I see your face when I hear this song."

"Would you just play it already?" Marley asked tilting her head to the with a small smile on her face as she took in his nervous expression.

Sighing once more before licking his lips, he began to strum a song she had never heard before. His tongue was sticking out slightly as he concentrated on the pattern of the notes and she couldn't help but find him completely adorable. When he looked up from the guitar, she noticed a small blush on his face and his expression made it look like he was questioning why she had been looking at him in the first place. He shook his head slightly as if to rid his thoughts from his head.

"_We should get jerseys 'cuz we make a good team._

_But yours would look better than mine, cuz you're out of my league._

_And I know that it's so cliché_

_To tell you that everyday_

_I spend with you is the new best day of my life._

_Everyone watching us just turns away with disgust._

_It's jealousy, they can see that we've got something real good going on."_

Marley's mouth dropped as his soft, but almost perfect voice filled her ears. He was looking at her and he smiled slightly as he noticed she was smiling as well.

"_And I'm racking my brain for a new improved way_

_To let you know you're more to me than what I know how to say_

_You're OK with the way this is going to be_

_This is going to be the best thing we've ever seen._

_If anyone can make me a better person you could_

_All I gotta say is a Must've done something good._

_I came along one day and you rearranged my life_

_All I gotta say is I must've done something right._

_I must've done something right."_

Ryder smiled as he finished the chorus and as he was still strumming, Marley leaned in and kissed him quickly. She'd never known that he could sing in the first place, yet here he was singing her a love song that made her heart melt. Sure, it wasn't a Beatles song or an Elton John song confessing his undying love for her, but it was cute and adorable. In other words, it was Ryder.

He stopped strumming randomly and licked his lips. "There's more, I just…" He started before putting his guitar to the side and leaning forward to connect their lips again. It was passionate but not to the point where Marley felt uncomfortable. He pulled away and smiled at her. "Sorry. It's just, you did it first. I couldn't help myself."

She giggled and looked down at her hands for a few seconds. "I'm really going to miss you…"

Ryder sighed and nodded his head along with her words. In only 9 hours, Ryder would be getting into his mother's car and they'd be separated for what would probably feel like years. Reaching forward, he grabbed her waist and pulled her back so he was now resting in his arms and he was leaning against the wall next to his bed.

"I'll text you all the time and you'll be out of here before you know it." Ryder assured her, resting his head on hers as he shut his eyes. "It'll be fine. _We'll_ be fine."

Marley sighed and she looked up at him, smiling as he groaned when his head could no longer rest upon hers. "Are you nervous?"

Ryder licked his lips and shrugged his shoulders. Truth be told, he hadn't really thought about what life would be like outside of rehab. All he had been giving thought to was life without Marley and at the moment he couldn't stand the life that was waiting for him out there. Finally, he shook his head and watched as she gave him a quizzical look. "I just don't want to leave you here."

"I don't want you to leave me here either." Marley mumbled, jumping slightly as the door slammed open, revealing a very tired looking Kitty and an amused looking Sam.

"I told you she'd be in here!" Sam wailed, giving Kitty a confident smile. "You owe me a dollar."

"No, I said I'd give you a dollar if you kept your mouth _shut." _Kitty spat as she was pushed aside by Mr. Schuester and Emma. "I tried to keep trouty from ratting on you, but clearly he's more of an idiot than I thought."

"Alright, come on Marley." Mr. Schuester interrupted, choosing to ignore her rude comments. Once he had learned that Marley wasn't in her room, he had been on edge. He had checked Ryder's room first but it was obvious they had entered recently. "Lights out."

"But Mr. Schue…" Ryder groaned, throwing his head backwards, completely forgetting there was a wall there. He winced and rubbed the back of his head as he glared at Will. "You're making me leave and now you want to take away the little bit of time we have left together? That's just cruel."

"You two make me want to barf." Kitty grumbled as she turned around and walked out of the room. Ryder watched her go before rolling his eyes and turning towards Marley.

"I know, I know. You can't stand her…" Marley mumbled tiredly as she seemingly read his mind. He smiled and kissed her forehead once more.

"Let's go, Marley." Will ordered, stepping out of the room and motioning for Marley to follow him. Sighing, she reluctantly stood up and crossed the room, turning around when she reached the door frame. She smiled and offered him a small wave before retreating into the hallway.

Although he smiled in return, he wasn't happy in the slightest. In fact, he wasn't happy at all. He'd shut his eyes and in the morning it'd all be over; he'd have to leave Marley here and face the world on his own.

**X X X **

Marley woke up the next morning with the sun shining through her window and onto her face. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock on her dresser. It was only 10 o'clock and the entire day was in front of her. 10 o'clock was good. She'd have plenty of time to take a shower and eat before Ryder even got up. Or at least that's what she thought when she grabbed a pair of clothes and put her hair into a messy bun.

"Are you and Ryder fighting or something?" Blaine asked as he caught up with Marley. She gave him a questioning look while shaking her head. Giving her a once-over, he met her eyes again and returned her confused glance. "His mom just got here."

"His mom just-what?" Marley asked, throwing her clothes onto the floor not really caring who may stumble upon them. She grabbed Blaine's arm and dragged him towards the lounge.

"Ouch!" He yelped, followed by a string of curse words that were muttered under his breath. "What the hell, Marley?"

"Don't think that you're not going to say goodbye too."

The way she said it made him wonder if people thought he and Ryder were friends again. Blaine wasn't ready to forgive Ryder. Not yet. Too much had happened and for Blaine to just drop his morals to make sure the other boy was alright just didn't sit well with Blaine.

"But-I." He started but the door to the lounge had already been opened and Marley was still gripping onto him for dear life. It crossed his mind that maybe she just needed somewhere to be there when Ryder did in fact leave. They walked over to a woman he knew well. "Hi Mrs. Lynn."

Ellen looked him up and down once, almost in a judging manner before she smiled. He couldn't tell if it was fake or not and it made him wonder if she knew about the real circumstances of the car accident all along. The thought made him shiver, but with Marley's tight grip on him, it was hard to tell.

"Hi." Marley managed to squeak out, only adding to the fire Ellen was currently holding in her chest. As far as Ellen was concerned, the brunette beauty in front of her was to blame for her son's sudden boost of confidence.

"It's Mary, right?" Ellen asked with a wicked smile on her face. Marley's smile faltered before it rebirthed.

"Marley, actually." Marley's smile grew as Ryder and Sam approached them. Ryder was carrying Beth on his back and she was laughing at something Sam had said.

"Right. Like the dog." Ellen concluded, turning to give her son a smile. It was true that she loved her son more than anything in the world, but she wanted to love her son in a beautiful house, with a picture perfect family. Now, she was releasing said son from a rehab center and her husband was in jail.

Marley licked her lips as she looked at her boyfriend. He didn't seem to notice through the glare he was currently giving his mother.

"Well, as fun as this little conversation is, I think I'm going to go take a shower." Blaine said, nodding his head along with his words. Forcing Marley to let go of him, he turned around and exited the room, only stopping when he heard his name being called. Turning around, he saw Ryder walking up to him. "You do realize you just left your girlfriend in there with Medusa herself, right?"

Ryder chuckled ash nodded his head. "Dude, that's still my mom you're talking about."

"It's not like I said I wanted to sleep with her." Blaine defended, putting his arms up as Ryder glared at him slightly.

"You're lucky you're gay." Ryder muttered as he leaned against a wall. "Why'd you do it?"

Blaine cocked his head to the side, trying to think of anything Ryder could possibly be talking about. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything recently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The trial." Ryder continued, unfazed by his friend's confused state. He wasn't even entirely sure he could call Blaine a friend anymore. "Why'd you defend me?"

"I heard you guys talking before we went into the court room." Blaine began, licking his lips as he cracked his fingers. "As much as I hated you, I couldn't let him get away with what he did."

Ryder nodded his head, choosing to ignore the comment made against him. "Well, thanks."

Blaine stood there awkwardly, knowing that this was the time they were supposed to hug it out or at least do a handshake of some sort. It felt unnatural though, like it was forced. So instead he pointed behind him towards the bathrooms. "So can I go now?"

"Oh… uh yeah." Ryder said, nodding his head and turning around himself. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw his girlfriend walking up to him with a small smile on her face. "Hey."

"Your mom hates me." She said when she reached him. Although she was a little unnerved by the encounter she had with his mom previously, she wrapped his arms around him and rested her head against his chest.

"I wouldn't be too upset about it." Ryder mumbled, kissing the top of her head. "She hates a lot of people."

Marley laughed and looked up at him, raising her eyebrows slightly. "You were _supposed_ to say, 'no she doesn't Marley. Don't be silly'."

Chuckled, he shook his head. "Would you want me to lie to you Miss Rose?" He tested with a teasing tone to his voice.

"Never." She whispered, reaching forward to kiss him. Running his fingers through her hair, he returned the kiss easily. When she pulled away, she had a tiny smile on her face. "Don't forget me, ok?"

"I'm not going to forget you, Marls." He mumbled, a tiny frown playing at his lips. "We're going to talk to each other every day."

"How do I know you aren't just lying?" She asked, tilting her head to the side sadly. "That you aren't just going to get out of here and meet some other girl who isn't crazy?"

"You aren't crazy, Marley." Ryder reasoned, kissing her forehead lightly.

"That's not exactly the response I wanted." She grumbled, pulling away from him and crossing her arms.

Chuckling, Ryder licked his lips. "I love you, Marley." He said honestly, kissing her forehead once more. "And I would _never_ lie to you."

"You-you love me?" She asked, pulling away from his embrace so she could look at his face. "Really?"

"Really." He confirmed, nodding his head.

"I love you too." She answered with a giant smile on her face. Ryder smiled and pulled her against him once more. "Are we going to be ok?"

"We're going to be fine." He answered and for those few brief moments he actually believed his words. No matter what the future held, he knew that they'd be there for each other through anything. No matter who doubted them. No matter the struggles of communicating with each other.

They'd be able to lean on each other. And nothing was going to change that. Ever.

**X X X**

**SONG: "Must've Done Something Right" by Relient K**

**So that's the end of 'Lean on Me'. It's been fun. You guys have been amazing and I love you all with all my heart. I think that the sequel will start in June and it will be called 'Carry On'. So keep an eye out for that. You guys still have to come talk to me on Tumblr because I really do love talking to you and I'm going to miss you if you don't. So consider that an order. **

**So is Unique catfishing Ryder then? Everyone on Tumblr is freaking out about that possibility . I'm not entirely sure though. I mean, I still kinda want it to be Jake because then Jarley will **_**have**_** to over. **

**Anyways, please comment and tell me what you thought of this story. **

**Thanks to:: **

**Adelaide17Frost: **I like Kyder too and I wouldn't mind if they did end up getting together for a few episodes. I just want Ryley to be endgame. Haha. Thanks so much. That means so much to me that my story made you like Ryley. That's so amazing. :) Thanks you SOO much for commenting.

**Yellowmusician: **Yeah, I figured that throughout the story I put a lot of hints about what did happen to Finchel, so I figured that I'd keep going with that for the last chapter. :P Thanks so much for the comment. I appreciate you letting me know about the predictability. :) And thank you so much for being so nice. :)

**Gillian Deverone: **Nah, they don't have the same fate. Well, yet anyway. Thank you for commenting all the time. Your comments always made me smile so thank you. (I feel bad for the Jarley shippers too. There's honestly no passion there and they're all just pining over an unrealistic relationship.)

**Iheartart13: **Yes, it is all better now. ;) I'm sorry for causing you to not be able to contain your feelings. :) Thanks so much for being so nice about the last chapter. I tried my best to make it as realistic as I possibly could. Love you too! And thanks for commenting all the time. I'm going to miss you if you don't harass me on tumblr. :)

**chavesfaroA: **Hahaha you think Finn is an asshole in the show or in the story? I suppose you could make arguments for both. :) Hahah I won't make Ryder kill her. I promise. :) Thanks for commenting. You're super amazing.

**Ryley4ever: **Thank you so much. My Lights Out pain was SOOOO much worse than what I wrote. I mean, maybe if I killed off Marley and Ryder instead of Rachel and Finn, it'd be the same pain. But nope. Lights Out was way worse. Thanks SOOO much for commenting so many times. You're literally awesome and I'm going to miss you.

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Thank you so much! I'm so sorry about your aunt. I can't even imagine the pain you must feel whenever you think about it, so I'm sorry again. Thank you for commenting, though. I think you commented on almost every chapter (maybe even every chapter). So thank you so much for that. You need to come harass my tumblr.

**Reflections of Twilight: **Welcome to my world. I can't decide between Ryley and Kyder. Sometimes, I even like Jarley (but that's really only because I think Jake is a cutie pie). It sucks not being able to decide. :P I thought the molestation plot was fantastic too, and I'm glad they gave it to Blake because he's a really good actor. Finn killed Rachel and then killed himself. Thank you SO much for always commenting! You are truly amazing!

**Khfan12: **I think it'd be absolutely adorable if they kept dating. I know! I feel so bad for Ryder almost every episode. He has so much going wrong in his life. If they make him cry again, I'm going to write RIB a really angry letter. Lol. Thanks so much for commenting!

**ChuckNutz: **Awww omg. Thanks so much. You have no idea how sweet your comments are. I just love you so much all the time. I never ever want you to ever stop talking to me so you better come and harass my tumblr EVERY day. Thanks a bunches for reviewing all the chapters you have. You're so amazing and awesome and I just love you. Haha. :)

**TotalGleek16: **No. Finn killed Rachel and then he killed himself. Haha. I know… you can never have anything without some Finchel drama. Thank you so much for always reviewing. You truly are amazing and I love you. Please feel free to harass my tumblr and continue talking to me because I'm truly going to miss you.

**Thanks to everyone else who ever reviewed, read, favorited, or followed this story. You guys are truly amazing and I can't believe that I started this story way back in December. I never imagined it would have gotten this type of response. So thanks so much. **

**And to everyone I just told to harass my tumblr, I just realized that if you have an account on FF, you can just PM me. Haha. So please do that because I'm really going to miss talking to you if you don't. **

**Love ALWAYS, **

**Kaylie**


	35. Carry On Sneak Peek

**So I thought I'd write a short epilogue for 'Lean on Me' but since I already started writing 'Carry On' I figured I'd just give you a sneak peek and encourage you to go check that out since I just started updating it regularly! **

**X X X **

It felt natural so she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. The scent she had gone to bed dreaming of filled her nose and she shut her eyes in pure pleasure. Within seconds, his arms were holding her and the protected feeling she always got when she was near him followed soon after. With a small sigh, she allowed herself to go back to a time in her life when this embrace was accepted, when she could always count on it.

"I miss you, Marls." He whispered, interrupting her brief moment of bliss. Those four words cut through her like a knife and she pulled away from him with her eyes blurry as tears clouded her vision. "What did I-?"

"I can't do this." Marley whispered, stepping farther back than before. "You need to leave."

"But Marley, I was just-"

"No. You have a girlfriend." She justified, turning so she could put their bowls of ice cream into the sink.

He chuckled and she turned to see him shaking his head. "She not my girlfriend. I told you that."

**X X X **

**So there's a part of "Carry On" that I already have written. If you want to somewhat understand what's going on, you should go to my page and read the first 3 chapters that have already been published. **

**I missed talking to you guys and I hope you check it out because your reviews always make me smile no matter what. **

**Love always, Kaylie**


End file.
